


Crystal Grumps Collection

by Demidevil



Category: Game Grumps, crystal grumps - Fandom
Genre: Angst for sure, Crystal Grumps, Game Grumps x Steven Universe, One Shot Collection, Possible Egoflapbang if I get enough requests for it, some bloody chapters maybe? Not graphic though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-15
Updated: 2016-09-01
Packaged: 2018-05-01 17:14:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 43,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5214164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demidevil/pseuds/Demidevil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Collection of Crystal Grump One-shots. Some will be linked which their Chapter Titles will show. Some will be one offs, some are head canon whilst others I'll just be having fun with. Thanks to everyone for this amazing AU which has prompted me into drawing again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Enter the Music Box

Fusion was looked down upon on Homeworld, every single gem was created for a single purpose and it was their job to perform that to the best of their ability. Fusion gave gems a sense of entitlement, gave them power and courage to act out and do such stupid things, as strange as it sounded; fusion, gave gems a mind of their own. Of course it was not unheard of, some Gems would fuse in dire situations, the Ninja Teams were one of these rare occurrences. These Gems were created for the war oh-so-long-ago. They were trained in combat to defeat their enemy and those gone rogue, they would kill and crush traitorous Gems and consume the shards between them, gaining their powers but at a terrible cost to their bodies. Ninja Gems were created together, twins in a sense, bound together in creation and life, perfectly in sync whilst battling, enough so that Fusion was a possibility within their reach. It was never really by choice, most Ninja Gems would fuse because they were ordered too, it was necessary to claim victory. None other was more fearsome than the Fusion of Red Cummingtonite and Bloodstone, two Gems who had been thrust together, two that shouldn’t of found fusion possible, the dreaded Manticore. 

He was an almost perfect Fusion between two separate entities, there were no extra limbs, no hesitation when it came to actions; Manticore was swift and violent, he knew how to retrieve corrupt and rogue gems, knew how to inflict pain before crushing their life force in his hands. Normally there was no hesitation, the moment that Gem was in his clutches his fist would enclose and the cracking could be heard, deafening to other gems nearby. Canabalism was frowned upon even on Homeworld, but desperate times called for desperate measures. It was kept a secret from the general population, from even the Gems with the ability, they couldn’t know that they themselves were abominations. Whispers and legends were told though, passed down between Gems to keep them complacent, these myths were greeted with fear, and fear does strange things to fellow Gems.

—

The Manticore grinned, sharp canine like teeth pulling back into a sinful smile, the small Purple Apatite cowering before them. It shouldn’t of run. It shouldn’t of tried to stand against them, they were perfect and it was standing in the way of Homeworld, another rogue Gem that had to be dealt with. At first they thought it was going to be a challenge, it hadn’t even summoned it’s weapon before their hand grasped desperately at the gem. They were clawing at it, ripping the projection, the Apatite yelling out in pain before it disappeared in a spray of blood and a cloud of smoke, the Gem landing gently in the Manticore’s bloody grip.

_‘Yes, finally, mine!’_

_‘Ours’_

“Of course.” They grinned, raising the still solid gem into the light, watching the reflections dance on it’s glassy surface, there was the smallest hesitation, a second of weakness but it was enough to bring the Manticore to a stop. The Gem was practically in their mouth, teeth poised above the beautiful surface, waiting, just waiting for the sound of that beautiful crunch. "Weren’t really a fighter huh? I wonder."

_‘No.’_

_‘I suppose you’re right.’_

Manticore bit down, sharp canines cutting through the stone as if it was nothing, cracks formed along the Apatite before it shattered between their teeth and crunch around in their mouth. Explaining what happens to a consumed Gem is difficult, it is known that powers can become absorbed and transferred to the new host, but that isn’t always the case, sometimes there are just glimpses of a life that once was. What is known to happen is much more serious. Gem shards can not be digested properly by another Gem, they remain and will always scar the cannibal. Sharp protrusions will tear through their skin, marks of each Gem they have ever consumed. The worst is their own stone, a once beautiful Gem now hardened and encrusted with those shards, making it more difficult to regenerate and be healed by others.

Apatite tasted almost sweet, there was nothing vicious about this gem, one part of Manticore kept rolling the chase and the fight in their mind, it didn’t make sense none of it ever did. Red was not a vicious Gem by creation, he was probably not meant to become a Ninja but when he was formed with his sister, and they were split apart, he had been paired with Blood, after the silent Ninja’s brother had been killed, since that day their destinies were intertwined. It made no sense to him, the violence and the eating, yet once he started, he couldn’t stop, like an addiction that had him so hooked that he would do anything for another hit, another Gem to crush and consume. 

Red had struggled at first, fighting had been difficult but Blood had been there the entire time, encouraging him in that silent way he was known for. Blood knew that deep down Red was irreplaceable, who else had a Ninja partner that could heal you with just a few hums from his melodic voice, he was not stupid though, he knew his friend, his partner was unhappy and confused, had been for so long. The Apatite was almost gone, stuck between vicious teeth as the Manticore savoured the last bite. Suddenly they gagged, coughing up the small shards, their chest hurt from heaving, tears stung at their eyes, bloodied fingers rubbing desperately at them, tears streaming down flushed cheeks. Another cough, this time so forceful that it tore the two gems apart.

Red Cummingtonite landed with a soft thud, coughing and choking, tears falling freely from his eyes, he couldn’t face his partner, hunched over and sobbing as if he was a newly created Gem. His breaths were ragged in his throat as he spat out more shards of the Apatite, it was then that Red was brave enough to steal a glance at Bloodstone, the other Gem seemingly passive as he wiped absently at his mouth before moving his mask back into place. Red ran a hand through his hair, short, shaggy and covered with sweat, his fingers brushed against a Gem shard, above his right eye, almost near his forehead. That one was new. A hiccup tore from him and immediately he curled up, hugging his knees to his chest as he sobbed into the soft material of his pants.

“Blood?” No answer but Red never really expected one, they had been partners for so long that he could just grasp what his friend was saying without even a word. This time though Blood surprised him, he felt the other Gem’s back press against his own, the smallest gesture that he was listening and that he too needed comfort.

“I’m sorry I got outta control there Blood, I mean I was in control and it tasted good but then it didn’t, it was more like it had gone sour ya know?” No response from Blood. “Yeah you know. I didn’t want it anymore, I didn't want it in our mouth, a part of us. It didn’t feel right. This whole thing doesn’t feel right, that Gem, that Apatite was only young, what the hell could it of done to deserve that?” Silence. “I know it was the enemy. But who decides which Gems are the enemies Blood? Sometimes I just- I just can’t.”

“Yes you can.”

“Blood?” Red was shocked, it’s not that his partner didn’t speak, he could, he just didn’t want to waste words when they weren’t needed. What was surprising was the small tears trapped in the corners of Blood’s eyes, just waiting to fall down his face.

“You don’t have a choice Red, this is what we were made for. We do our job.”

“What if I don’t want to anymore? I don’t wanna kill, Blood, it make’s no sense, I’m a healing stone, I like our music I wanna make gems better not crush them.”

“It’s your job.”

“I don’t want it!”

“Red! Enough.” Blood stood, slowly as he moved around to face his partner, staring the other Gem down with such ferocity that when Red hadn’t moved, Blood reached forward to grasp his arm and pulled the taller to his feet. “Come. Stop being such a baby.”

“No! I can’t do this anymore.” Red ripped his arm free from his partner’s grasp, he sniffed, the sound pathetic as the Cummingtonite gem on his stomach began to glow so softly. He summoned his weapon, a beautiful katana that shone as deep as the blood that had stained it’s blade many times before. Red flicked it around in his hands, the tip pressed against his chest. “I just can’t…”

“Red.”

“You don’t understand do you? Look at you! You were made for this, you are efficient and deadly and perfect and I’m just-I’m just-a monster.” Red pressed the katana against his chest, his blue coloured skin on his cheeks flushed pink, his eyes rimmed red from the tears streaming down his face. He couldn’t look at Blood, his partner seemed fearful, annoyed, frustrated, sometimes it was so hard to read his masked friend’s face. “I was teamed with you Blood, to be there every step of the way, but I can’t, I’ll just drag you down with me.”

“Then leave.”

“Wha-?”

Blood was silent, his piercing eyes boring into Red’s own, he closed the distance between them, his hand’s grasping at the hilt of his partner’s katana, increasing the pressure beneath it, the blade slicing through the material of Red’s top and pressing against his projected body.

“Is this what you wan’t Red, to be put out of your misery?”

“Yes… please, Blood, do it!” More pressure was placed on the blade it caused Red to flinch and blink back the tears to mask his pain, he just wanted his partner to do it, Blood would be much better off. Red looked to the smaller Gem, his eyes watery and unfocused, yet he was sure that he saw his friend’s face soften in sadness.

“Are you in pain Red?”

“Every day. These shards, they burn and tear at me, they anchor to my gem and pull me down with their pain and sorrow. I can’t stop though, I will never stop craving them. The taste, the power, the thrill. It’s too much Blood. I know I’m a monster for enjoying this, but I don’t think I can ever stop. So you need to… Please, don’t look at me like that.”

“Last words?”

“Look after me alright? I love ya.” Red’s eyes widened as his own katana was pushed through his projected form, forcing him to disappear and retreat back into his gem. The weapon poofed along with him and Blood quickly reached out to snatch the falling Cummingtonite from the air before it could clatter to the ground. He held it loosely in his fist, yellow eyes studying the marred surface of the red Gem littered with shards. Suddenly anger flared, Blood curling his fist and hearing a soft crack escape between his fingers, opening them once more he studied his partner, a perfect spider like fracture through it’s surface. Pocketing Red, Blood moved on, he needed to hide his partner, report back that he had died in combat and that it was time to move on with his life. 

It took a while to find someone that Blood would consider trustworthy, it took even longer to make what he had in mind, but once it was completed, the Ninja made sure that Red’s Gem would be safe and secure within the small device, the Gem’s cracked face on display once one would open the lid. He tested it again, winding the crank and opening the small box, a soft melody filled the air, one Blood knew very well and that Red would be happy with if he ever wanted out, not that Blood ever really thought about that. Once everything was completed, the only thing left to do was to give it away, very easy considering when one mentioned a healing music box, other Gems jumped at the chance to have it. Where Red ended up? Blood didn’t care, he had stopped caring the moment he had handed the small box over to a shady orange Gem in a back alley on Homeworld.

Then the War had happened.


	2. Enter the Music Box Part II

“Man we really gotta clean up down here.” Arin muttered as he followed Suzy’s steps and moved around another bubble, his shoulder brushed it lightly causing it to drift further into the room before coming to a soft halt. He hadn’t realised how many Corrupted Gem’s they encountered until he was face to face with them. There was the cracked green one, he remembered that giant lizard like monster, first time they had bubbled one successfully. He continued to follow Suzy, he could hear the others searching frantically as well. It would of been great if Arin knew what they were looking for.

“Barry, what’s it look like again?” Suzy asked peering into a bubble to Arin’s left.

“It’s a box Suze, a little blue wind up music box. It shouldn’t be hard to spot.”

“What’s it for?” Holly chimed in gently moving bubbles out of her way.

“Since the spring has become clogged and we can’t figure out why, I believe it would come in handy again. If only I can find it. I use to use it a lot back during the war, but after we won and the temple came to be I didn’t see the need for it anymore.”

“So it's-“ Suzy pried realising Barry hadn’t actually answered the question.

“It’s a healing music box.”

“Oh cool!”

“Is this it?” Arin called out, his finger’s reaching towards the bright pink bubble, it popped beneath his probing and the small box fell into Arin’s waiting hand. He studied it, nothing too special, it was powder blue with a red crank on the side, it’s lid lifted to show a small blank underside with a red crystal nestled within, there were thin cracks over it’s surface. He turned it over in his hands as the others all gathered around, Barry reached for it but Arin seemed reluctant to give it up. “Does it work?”

“No way to tell I guess, not until one of us is injured. I remember it was working before I left it down here.” Barry noticed Arin studying it, turning the box over as he turned the small crank experimentally. A soft tune entered the room, echoing against the high ceiling, the small blank underside of the lid flickered to life, a small screen showing beautiful images of the universe way beyond the Earth’s reach. Arin recognised those constellations, they were the stars that surrounded Homeworld, hauntingly familiar. It was like a sense of longing and dread filled him before he snapped the lid shut and the music was cut short. 

“Well it certainly is relaxing.” Holly smiled before she turned on her heel to leave, her voice echoing in the temple. “Let’s hope we don’t need it.”

“Can I keep a hold of it Barry?” Arin asked, hope in his eyes as he did his best to puppy dog pout, it worked wonders on his wife so maybe it was worth a shot.

“Yeah, just don’t lose it in that mess you call the Grump Space.” 

“Promise!” Arin called out to Barry’s retreating back as he leant over to hug Suzy and kiss her delicately on her cheek. 

“Why do you wan’t it?”

“I dunno, it’s kinda cool.”

“Alright Arin. Just be careful ok?”

“Always.” Arin grinned, music box clutched in his hands as he exited the temple, everyone else was off doing their own thing, so he decided that he could always play a game to pass the time. He set the music box down next to him, as he shuffled through some games he could play, something challenging sounded good. With a smirk, he placed Battle Kid into the system and booted it up, feeling confident that this time he had the game beat. Of course Arin lasted about twenty minutes before he felt the tension of rage building in his shoulders. With a huff that pushed his hair away from his face, he paused the game, moving over to turn the crank on the music box and let the sweet melody fill the room. Holly was right, it did help relax him slightly as he continued to play, no longer paying attention to the soft music. 

“Stupid fucking plant!” Arin snarled tossing the controller to the floor, realising only now that the crank had long since stopped and the Grump Space was filled with no soothing music, just the pixelated sound coming from the television. “Fuck this game!”

“Arin.”

“Yeah Suze?” But when Arin turned around his wife wasn’t there, he propped himself up on his knees to see over the couch, still no sign of her. Weird.

“Arin.”

He froze, he definitely heard it that time, his eyes studied the Grump Space, wondering whether Suzy was playing a trick on him, it was then that they landed on the still opened music box. The small little screen was flickering between red and blue as if it couldn’t settle on an image, eventually it simply showed Arin’s face which had him crawling closer to the music box, unsure if what he was seeing was true.

“Are you talking?”

“Are you Arin?” The first two words were a mimic of his voice, the last, his name, was spoken by Suzy. It was then that Arin pieced it together, he realised that the music box didn’t have a voice, it was listening and using the words it heard to form what it needed to know.

“Yeah. Dude, you can totally talk. That’s so rad!”

“Totally.”

Arin chuckled as he picked up the music box as if to examine it once more, he still wasn’t one hundred percent convinced this wasn’t a trick. He watched the small screen flicker between the images it had witnessed since being open, most of them were of the last half an hour, Arin sitting around on the couch and losing his fucking mind at battle kid.

“How come Barry didn’t mention you could talk?”

“I dunno.” 

“What’s your name?”

“Fuck, I dunno.”

“Oh man that’s not cool. Maybe if I give you one, like a video game character would be cool.” Arin’s eyes scanned the plethora of games he had nearby, his eyes falling onto one in particular and smirking slightly. “How about Dan?”

“That’s so rad!”

“Awesome! Come on I gotta show you off to the others.”

“No way!” 

“What, why not?” Arin stopped, music box in hand as he was about to vault over the couch, instead he sunk into the cushions and set the music box down next to him.

“That’s not cool.”

“You don’t want to meet my friends?”

“Fuck, I dunno.”

“Look, Dan. I don’t know what you think you know about them but we’re not bad Gems.” Arin watched as the small screen on the music box flickered between each of his friends, it then turned a dark colour almost blood red before fading to black. The screen then lit up again, filled with dark shadowy figures that Arin recognised immediately. “You came from Homeworld?”

“Yeah. Homeworld.”

Arin’s eyes were transfixed on the small screen, they hadn’t had any contact with Homeworld in such a long time, for that he was grateful, it made him wonder how long Barry had the music box, how long had he been hiding it down in the temple with the rest of the corrupted and shattered gems. He held the music box gently in his hands, rotating it slightly in his palms, as a researcher, Arin had never seen anything like this before, but back on Homeworld, unless it had something to do with his research he hadn’t really paid much mind. He had heard rumours of course, things that would happen to defective and renegade Gems, he wondered whether there was more to this than met the eye.

“Do you remember Homeworld?”

“No. I remember space.”

“That’s cool.”

“I want to- be home.”

“Do you miss Homeworld?”

“I miss- friend.”

“Dude I’m sorry. That really sucks. Hey I can be your friend if you want?”

“Really?”

“Of course! I’ll even do it for free.” Arin watched as the little screen on the music box lit up, the images were peaceful, joyful, filled with pastel colours and swirling stars, the music had started up once more letting it’s relaxing tone drifting into the quiet Grump Space. He laughed, the way the music box expressed joy was very entertaining, Arin was so distracted by the display that he didn’t hear the door to the Grump room open, he didn’t realise Suzy was standing behind the couch a soft smile on her face as she watched her husband laugh.

“Funny, I never thought Battle Kid would put you into fits of laughter Arin.”

“Suzy!” Arin noticed the music box immediately go quiet, it’s small little screen blank. “Aw you scared it.”

“Scared it?” Suzy moved around to the front of the couch, kneeling before Arin and gently cupping his face with her delicate fingers. “What are you talking about?”

“The music box”

“Arin, it’s just a box.”

“No it can totally talk! Come on, it’s ok. Suzy is awesome.” Arin held up the small trinket, opening it’s lid again and staring intently at the screen. Nothing happened for a few beats and he knew that his wife was looking at him bewildered, he could see the concern on her face out of the corner of his eyes. “We’re friends aren’t we?”

“Yeah Arin, we’re friends.”

Suzy gasped as she watched the little screen light up, there was swirls of colour that quickly solidified into a picture of her husband, the words had mostly been in Arin’s voice but there was no denying that they had come from the small powder blue music box. A frown was on her face as she looked between Arin and the little trinket, holding her hand out to him in an authoritative manner.

“Honey. I need you to give me the music box.”

“No!” The enchanted box screamed faintly in Arin’s hands as he clutched the item closer to his chest.

“Why? It’s not hurting anybody!”

“Arin. It’s a box, it’s not suppose to be able to talk!”

“But it’s scared.”

“Arin,” Suzy urged, her hand held out for the item to be given to her. “Please give me the box.” 

“No!” Arin jumped up suddenly, his bare feet slipping slightly on the couch cushions as he turned and vaulted over the back of the lounge. He landed with a thud and took off towards the open door. “It doesn’t want to go with you Suze!”

“Arin!” She tore after him, clutching the door frame as she moved into the hallway, watching her pink clad husband dash through the common area towards the warp pad. “Barry! Stop him!” 

Suzy panted as she bumped into the wall taking the corner a little too fast. Dazed she looked up, Barry was confused and Arin was long since gone, the warp pad now dormant.

“What in the world Suzy?”

“Barry, the music box talks?”

“What!?”


	3. Enter the Music Box Part III

Arin didn’t have anywhere in mind when he had activated the warp pad, but as he landed, confused and huffing to catch his breath, he finally looked around. The healing spring, well that’s what the place once was before it had become clogged and the water had stopped. Sighing he headed deeper into the garden, wanting to get as far away from the warp pad as possible. He couldn't let the others find him, not yet, they were going to hurt Dan. The music box had been eerily silent as he pushed his way past over grown plants and squeezed through gaps into the bowels of the fountain's systems. Eventually, Arin collapsed against the wall, sliding down it onto the cold ground and propping open the little music box before him.

“You alright Dan?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think they would try to take you away.”

“It’s alright.” The music box lit up again, swirling and soothing colours moving over the screen in an attempt to make Arin feel better. There was only the soft music filing the silence between them for several minutes.

“Why would they wanna take you away dude?”

“Arin. Can you promise me?”

“Uh that depends.”

“I’m scared. I need to be-free.”

“Of course! But how? You don’t exactly come with an instruction manual.” The small screen began to flicker again, this time it showed a silhouette, one which was obviously Arin, then there was a picture of the box, of the gem and finally Arin pulling the red gem free. Nodding he stood up slowly, bracing himself on the wall as he held the music box open, examining it for a few minutes. His fingers were slightly too chubby to get a proper purchase on the red Gem, but that didn’t stop him from trying. Just as his fingers began to ache Arin felt the satisfying pop of the Gem coming free, he lost his balance falling over onto the hard ground as the red Gem flew from his hand and immediately became surrounded by white light. 

A figure slowly began to take shape, tall, absurdly thin, more sinew than muscle, a large mop of curly hair sprouted from it’s head, falling around it’s face in wild tendrils. Clothing appeared last on the emerging form; clothes hugged the thin body, Arin realised that it reminded him of Ninja Gi, dark blue in colour yet exposing his stomach and the Gem nestled there, the figure stumbled to it’s knees. Arin could see the Gem’s pale blue skin, the small knick in his eyebrow, he moved closer, to help Dan to his feet, his hands wrapped around a thin arm to support him, suddenly he saw the eyes, emotionless, mirror like and unfocused, Arin almost let go.

“Dude are you alright?”

“I can’t see. Arin?”

“Yeah man I’m right here.” Arin gave Dan’s skinny shoulder a slight squeeze as he led the other Gem towards the wall and guided him to sit before he sunk next to him, making sure his arm was touching the other’s reassuring Dan that he was still there. “What’s wrong Dan?”

“My Gem.” On reflex Dan grasped the red Gem on his belly, covering it with his fingers and feeling the small cracks in the surface beneath them. This was not good, not good at all. His eye sight was a blurry mess, he could see the pink form beside him but not enough to distinguish features, also his voice was wrong, gravelly and vicious. It reminded him more of the Manticore and that brought a shiver to run through his blue projected body.

“You can’t heal yourself?”

“No!” Dan snapped before looking down, his brows furrowed in anger. “Why did you leave me in there?”

“The music box?”

“Yes.”

“I didn’t know you were in there dude. How was I suppose to? You’ve been in the Temple since the war!”

“You didn’t think it was strange that it was a healing music box, that could talk!”

“Well I mean-“

“For fucks sake Arin! Were you going to leave me in there forever?” Dan had stood up now, shaky on his bare feet, he turned to the pink blob that he assumed was Arin, his fists were clenched by his side and he could feel tears stinging at his eyes. No, not now.

“I didn’t-no not once I knew.” Arin stood slowly approaching the red Gem with outstretched hands. “Dude, I’m sorry but I didn’t know, you haven’t been out of the temple since the war.”

“The war? I missed the war?”

“Yeah man.”

“Where am I?” Dan tried to look around again, his motions almost becoming frantic due to his vision.

“On Earth, chill.”

“Earth. Oh.”

“Is that good?”

“Are you kidding? That’s fantastic!” Dan’s mood did a complete one eighty, catching Arin off guard as the Gem turned and grasped loosely at his wrists and spun them both around, his laughter echoing within the spring’s chamber. They slowed to a stop and Arin let out a quiet little chuckle. “I don’t have to go back! I’m free!” 

“Dan, that’s great. How about we get you healed up huh?” Arin reached out and gingerly grasped the Gem’s wrist, there was no resistance as he lead him into the bowels of the Temple. Now was the perfect time to figure out what was wrong with the spring. “Hey uh- you don’t mind that I’ve been calling you Dan right? I mean what’s your name?” 

“No. I like it. Just like you go by Arin. I’m sure no one calls you Rhodonite. I’m a Red Cummingtonite.” Arin snorted. “What?!”

“Nothing dude. Just your Gem sounds like something humans consider sexual and funny.”

“Well isn’t that fantastic.” Dan drawled sarcastically, he hoped Arin didn’t pry about Dan’s knowledge on his Gem, he couldn’t really see it to be fair, but boy could he smell it, almost taste it. Now was not the time to get cravings of that nature. He felt Arin let go of his wrist and immediately panic began to rise in his stomach, he out stretched his arms, feeling Arin only a few inches to his left and a soft sigh escaped between parted lips. “What are we doing here?” 

“I’m gonna try and get the spring running for you man, it hasn’t been working for awhile so I thought we could figure it out and then get you back to normal.” 

“Oh. Any luck?” 

“Jesus man give me a sec, I only just got here.”

“Sorry.” Dan slowly sank to the floor, sitting cross legged as he ran his hands over his body. Nothing seemed to of changed that much, his hair was definitely wilder and longer, and his clothing was slightly different. He wondered briefly if the shards were visible, but as he felt down his left arm he knew that wasn’t the case. Also Arin’s reaction may of been quite different. There was a tense silence in the air between them, Dan didn’t like it. He tried to hum out a few notes but with his voice the way it was he knew it was futile, he coughed trying to clear his throat before he began to sing quietly.

_“When the last eagle flies, over the last crumbling mountain.  
And the last lion roars at the last dusty fountain.  
 In the shadow of the forest, though she may be old and worn.  
They will stare unbelieving at the last unicorn.”_

“Dude. That’s beautiful.” Arin smiled, it didn’t seem as if Dan heard him, he was running his finger absently through the dirt on the ground. The pink Gem frowned slightly before turning back to his work, the water should of been flowing through these pipes but something had them clogged. Frowning he summoned his cannon, still drawing no attention from the other Gem as he heard him continue to sing quietly. Taking aim, Arin shot a few low level blasts down the pipe, he watched the energy light it up before it impacted against something solid. Yep defiantly a blockage here.

_“When the last moon is cast over the last star of morning,  
and the future has passed without even a last desperate warning.  
Then look into the sky, where through the clouds a path is torn-“_

“I did it! Come on Dan!” Arin ran over to the red Gem, grasping his long fingers and tugging him suddenly to his feet. He pulled him desperately after him, winding down paths and squeezing through difficult gaps, the sound of rushing water flowing beside them. The spring was clear, the water bursting from the fountain as Arin practically pushed Dan into the water.

“Dude what the-“ Dan was cut off, water in his mouth, his blurred vision made it difficult to see which was up and what was down. But as he struggled he blinked, everything coming into focus, his fingertips ran down his Gem, feeling it knit together beneath his touch. Dan jumped from the water, soaked head to toe, his smile wide and infectious as he could finally see Arin in all his pink glory.

“Look and see her how she sparkles, it’s the last unicorn.  
I’m alive. I’m alive.” 

“Dude seriously, your voice is killer.” Arin grinned helping the taller gem down from where he was standing on the fountain’s edge.

“Actually quite the opposite. There’s a reason the music box could heal.”

“Wait- Really?”

“Arin!”

“Suzy?”

“Shit.”

“Dan wait!”

“Arin stop!”

“Barry, Holly?”

Arin turned, he watched as Dan’s face grew wide, terror on his features as the Gem turned tail and ran deeper into the Temple’s Spring, he was going to get lost, Arin didn’t even know his way around completely. Suzy, Barry and Holly were gaining ground on him, Arin reaching out to clasp his wife’s hand and stop her pursuit.

“Suze. You gotta stop.”

“Arin. I told you it was dangerous. Now look, we have a rogue Gem loose in the temple, who knows what he could get up too?”

“Suzy, Dan’s not like that?”

“Dan?”

“Yeah it’s his name!

“Arin. What did you do?”

“Not all Gems are bad! We always say they’re corrupted, they’re renegade, but what if we’re wrong?”

“Honey. There has to be a reason he was sealed away.”

“Then how about we ask him instead of attacking him?” Arin hated fighting with Suzy, he didn’t want this to escalate more than it already had, he gave her his best sincere look, taking her hand gently in his own and looking into her green eyes with the smallest of smiles on his lips. “Trust me.”

“Alright. I trust you.” Suzy grasped his hand and immediately the two took after Barry and Holly. Arin knew that the Crystal Grumps wouldn’t hold back if they managed to get Dan cornered, which not knowing the lay out of the temple was highly likely. He realised he knew nothing about Dan’s past, only that he was a Homeworld Gem and he missed his friend, what he had done on Homeworld was a complete mystery. As they rounded the corner Arin witnessed the three of them, Barry in a defensive stance, Holly looking like she was ready to attack; Dan was crouched, catching his breath and a blood red katana was in his hands.

“Stop! Don’t hurt him.”

“Arin?” Barry dropped his guard slightly, yet his eyes never left the unknown Gem before him, waiting for an attack that never came. 

“He’s not evil, Barry! Dan, don’t fight.” Arin dragged Suzy with him to protect Dan, the Blue projected Gem seemed to cower behind the both of them, his wild hair peering out from behind Arin’s shoulder. “Barry. He was stuck in that music box, if he wanted to kill me he would of already.”

“Actually-“

“Not helping Dan.”

“Arin. He’s dangerous.”

“No he’s not. I mean look at him. He’s scared, he’s confused and you kept him locked away in the temple.”

“It was you!”

“Dan!” Arin whirled around grasping the tall Gem by the shoulders to keep him grounded. Suzy seemed hesitant beside him, but he wasn’t going to let the Homeworld Gem run off and ruin this. “Barry didn’t know. How did you end up in the box?”

“I dunno. I was with Blood and I asked him to- ya know I wanted to go back in my Gem, I didn’t wanna deal with Homeworld anymore. I don’t know what happened after that.”

“Look.” Barry dropped his shield, it disappeared into small sparkles before he raised his hand up in defeat, trying not to look threatening. “I bought the music box off a Gem before the war, he seemed reluctant at first, but when I told him I was going to Earth to defend it he handed it over. I didn’t know a Gem was trapped inside.”

“See Dan. We don’t want to hurt you. You have your wish now, the wars over, you’re on Earth away from Homeworld. You’re free.”

“What are you going to do now?” Suzy asked moving forward to clutch at her husband’s arm, there for back up if Dan got angry again, although his weapon had long since been dispelled.

“I never really thought about it. I thought Blood would be with me, we’ve never really been apart.”

“Is Blood your uh- significant other?” Suzy asked gingerly.

“We’re partners.”

“That doesn’t clear anything up.” Arin whispered to his wife. “Well ya know dude, you can always stay with us.”

“Really?” Dan’s face lit up immediately, he reached forward, wrapping his long arms around both Suzy and Arin, pulling the other two gems into a tight embrace. “That would be awesome.”

“Yeah of course. We could use someone like you in the Crystal Grumps.”

“Arin. Don’t you think we should talk about this?” Barry asked, his mum voice out in full force.

“Nah! He’s got a healing voice Barry! He’s going to be so much more useful than that dusty old fountain!”


	4. Fear and Anxiety

When he had emerged, from deep within the earth the first thing that he had noticed was the heat, the red dirt for miles reflected the sun, making everything simmer around him. Everything around him was desolate, there was no other life, large machines lay broken and forgotten. What was going on? He crept into the sunlight, shielding his face from the glare, the sound of a soft whimper catching his attention. Turning on his heel, he peered at the hole he emerged from, one next to it, identical to his had movement within. Peering closer, he saw another, like him, seemingly dazed and confused. Stepping into the hole, escaping the heat he moved to sit next to the other Gem, an Aquamarine like himself.

“Are you alright?” The other Gem was crying, wiping away tears as she tried to hide from him. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, gasping when she looked at him. This was all still so new, but he knew that the crack running through her Aquamarine Gem was not a good thing. He needed to find help. “Come on.”

“Leave me here. Please!” Her voice was garbled, broken in places and obscured by her sobs in others.

“I can’t leave you.” He managed to coax her to her feet, pull her from the dark comforting hole and into the hot scorching sun. He took her hand, gently squeezing it as he looked down the reddened earth for some kind of guidance; without much to go on he began to lead her towards the sun. They took it slow, the heat affecting their travel, her state slowing them more. He stopped frequently for her but he couldn’t help but feel protective of this other Gem, it was just the two of them now. 

The sun was a blazing before them, slowly sinking below the sky line, yet the heat seemed to remain trapped in the orange dirt beneath their feet. The flicker of lights caused his mind to race, he might be able to gain help from the residence there. A sign read Cooper Pedy but the Aquamarine had no idea what that actually meant, all he knew was that lights meant other beings, ones that could possibly help his companion. She stumbled and fell, he was by her side in an instant, muttering encouraging words beneath his breath to her, encouraging her to stand. She was weak, sobbing quietly into her hands, he couldn’t stand seeing her like this, he shifted her weight so he could offer her a piggy-back the rest of the way. 

The town was quiet, the heat keeping everybody out of the streets, it was just by luck that they were spotted by a caring lady, she was juggling groceries in her hands before she approached them, calling out if they needed her help. The Aquamarine was elated, he quickly closed the distance between them, trying to explain what happened before he realised one fatal flaw in his plan. These were not Gems. The woman seemed confused at first but she recognised his distress and invited them both back to rest. 

The woman’s home was not exactly conventional, in fact it was built under the ground, she explained that a lot of places here were designed this way to fight of the heat all year round, Cooper Pedy was a large mining capital but he had lost interest after a while. He had placed his companion down on the couch, telling her to take it easy whilst he figured something out, he was tired and before long the two of them were passed out in the living room.

—

“Ross! Rebecca! Time to get up!” 

“Coming!” Ross called back helping his sister get up out of bed. They had been living with Melissa for almost five years now, after the night she found them, she realised they were lost and had no where else to go. She had taken them in on the deal that they would both help her with the small cafe. Ross tried to work hard, make it up to her and make up for the lack of work Rebecca was capable of, the two of them were so thankful. “Beck time to get going.”

“I know. I’m just so tired.” Ross frowned, inspecting her cracked Gem. Slowly over time it was getting worse, but there was nothing that anyone had really been able to do about it. He had come to terms with the fact that his sister was not at her full capacity, she was constantly tired and every now and then she would glitch out when she was overly excited. Ross knew the inevitable would eventually happen, and until he could delay it, he was going to make sure that Rebecca lived her life to the fullest.

“Don’t worry it’s going to be like forty five today, so I’m sure we’ll be quiet.”

“Yeah I guess.”

Ross lead her into the den, Melissa waiting for them and offering the both of them their aprons for the day, she was going to have Rachel work the tables and Ross in the kitchen, normally it was the other way around but this time she was giving the strange girl the benefit of the doubt. Melissa was hoping that it was going to be quiet today, the heat would keep most miners under ground and travellers weren’t really big in Cooper Pedy.

Melissa was right, the morning was quiet, a few locals to get their morning coffee but other than that the two young Gems spent their time cleaning the tables and learning how to create new dishes with their mentor. It wasn’t until late in the afternoon, some tourists came through, fascinated by the towns strange way of living. They were making a quick stop before continuing on their journey across Australia, Ross didn’t like them, they were rowdy and obnoxious, he could see that they were putting Rachel on edge. 

She bustled around their table taking their order and avoiding eye contact, her hair falling over her face to cover the Aquamarine that was nestled and cracked on her forehead. Ross was watching them, he could see that they were making his sister uncomfortable, she was shifting from side to side as she repeated their order before a glitch ran through her projected form. Ross froze, Rachel froze, the tourists all looked on in shock.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

“N-nothing.”

“Rachel, honey let me take over.” Melissa began to come around the counter, she had become used to Rachel’s little glitches, Ross had told her it was normal and they couldn’t change that, that there wasn’t something around here that could heal her. The young Gem glitched again causing the tourists to stand up suddenly, the chairs scraping on the floor loudly. 

“What the fuck!” One of the young guys reached forward grasping Rachel by her wrist. Ross yelled out from the kitchen moving around to come and defend his sister. 

“Hey let her go.”

“What the fuck is that on your forehead?”

“Nothing, please let me go.” Rachel tried to pull away but the tourists were surrounding her, jostling her slightly between them. 

“I said let her go!” Ross charged through the counter, he reached for his glowing Gem and from it he pulled his weapon. It solidified into a shovel like instrument, blades running along it’s sharp edges, he held it up in defence, approaching the group.

“You guys are fucked up! What the hell are you?”

“Ross take Rachel home!” Melissa was trying to defuse the situation, she had never seen the young male Gem produce anything like a weapon before, she was a little scared but she knew they both had a good heart, she had raised them for the last five years with no incident like this. One of the tourists pushed Rachel suddenly to the ground, the girl crying out as a deafening crack filled the room. 

Ross froze, his breath caught in his throat, Rachel wasn’t moving. Fear over took him, his judgement gone from his mind as he ran to her side, before Ross could gather her projection in his arms she was gone. Rachel’s shattered Gem lay on the ground, falling through his fingers as he tried to gather her up. Tears were stinging at his eyes, she was gone, Rachel was gone, he was never going to see her again. Ross always knew something like this was going to happen eventually, he just never thought it would be so sudden and at the hands of humans.

“You killed her!” Ross’ voice cracked, his hands clutching at the shovel by his side, the tourists were shocked, still confused on what had happened to the girl who was just there. A snarl was on Ross’ lips as he swung his shovel in a wide horizontal arc, the flat surface catching one of the tourists by the shoulder and knocking him down. “You. Killed. Her!”

“Ross no!” Melissa barged through the room, her arms wrapping around the enraged Gem, trying to stop him from bringing the sharpened blade of the shovel down on the stranger’s neck. “They’re not worth it!”

“None of you are worth it! You killed her! You killed my sister!” A sob escaped from Ross’s throat, constricting his vocals and causing no coherent words to flow from his lips. 

“What are you man?” One of the teenagers forced Melissa away, pulling Ross up by his collar to stare at the Gem set just above his eyebrows. “You’re a fucking freak!”

The shovel hit the teenager on his side causing him to let Ross go and stumble to the floor. The other four moved to surround him, but Ross was backing up towards the exit, the feel of the hot sun hitting his back. Melissa was encouraging him to go, the teenagers moving to give chase. Tears stung at his eyes, Ross turning his back on Cooper Pedy, the place he had called home for the last five years, but it wouldn’t be the same, not without Rachel. He took off, his feet kicking up red dirt, the hot sun behind him, leaving Cooper Pedy in the dust. 

Tears created clean streaks down his face, drying there as Ross entered the familiar surroundings of the Kindergarden, the high cliffs, the run down machines, the hole, his hole. A sob choked from his dry throat, he crawled into the darkness, trying to ignore the identical indentation in the earth beside it. This was his home, not with the humans, he would never trust them again, for as long as he lived. He would stay here, in the Kindergarden, never to leave the red hot confines of the dirt.

Until they arrived. The strangers, they visited often, picking apart machines and taking what they needed. It was always the pink one, yet his companion would change, sometimes they were green, or orange, a softer pink, every now and then he would come alone. They were all so confident, they didn’t realise that he was there, they never saw him, never looked for life. They came for what they wanted and left via that strange green crystal, the Warp never worked for him though, he didn’t know how but every time it activated he would watch them. He lost count over the times they came, each day, month, year he grew more confident, talking himself into approaching them. When the Warp pad lit up, the pink Gem appearing with a new Blue Projection, these two catching his attention. He might be able to have a little fun with these two idiots.

“This is gonna be fun.”


	5. Aussie Aussie Aussie (Fear and Anxiety II)

“Sooo- Why are we here?” Danny asked looking around the darkened sky and cliffs. He had never been to a Kindergarden before, he had heard about them, it was the easiest way for Gems to be made in the war. In fact Dan’s pretty sure he and his sister had been made in a similar fashion, with some tampering to allow him to do the horrible things he’d done. This one on Earth though looked bleak, the planet was normally much more beautiful than this, the ground was opened up before them, small holes where Gems had been created dotted the cliff face. Old technology abandoned by the Homeworld Gems was strewn about, obviously it had been picked at before, probably by Arin looking for something that could be useful.

“Daniel. We’re here because it’s fun to go scavenging like the peasants we are!” The both of them burst into laughter as Dan stopped to poke at one of the drills, boredom suddenly taking over his features.

“We got this job whilst the others get to stay at home in the air con because?”

“Because I know what I’m looking for and I wanted company!”

“Suzy too smart to join you?”

“Yeah, she’s been here a couple of times, she finds it boring and really fucking hot.”

“I can see why.”

“Hey come on. I pretend to be interested in the stuff you do.”

“Yeah ok.” Danny pulled himself away from the drill a curse escaping between his lips. Something hit him! Rubbing the back of his head, he turned to Arin with a scowl, “what the hell Arin?”

“What?”

“You hit me.”

“Fuck you I did. You probably hit your head on the drill.” Arin shrugged, before leading Danny further into the Kindergarden. They passed a lot of stagnant machinery, the Red Cummingtonite could probably guess their uses. This place was rather creepy, Danny instinctively moved closer to his friend brushing against him as a yelp escaped his lips, the falling of stones from the cliff side scaring him. “Dan! Come on what the hell?”

“It’s kinda creepy Arin.”

“Really? Man you’re a scaredy cat.” Arin shook his head, grasping Danny’s wrist and leading him along. “There’s nothing here any more, the Kindergarden has been dead for a long time. No one comes here but us so just relax.”

“Oh yeah this is an easy place to relax-ow! What the fuck!”

“Oh-my-god, what now?”

“I swear someones fucking with me.”

“Maybe I should of left you at home.” Arin muttered. 

Dan frowned, he didn’t mean to be a nuisance but he could of sworn something had hit him the first two times. Eyes scanned the cliff sides, maybe something above had shifted the rocks and they had rolled down and managed to hit him. Yeah, that sounded plausible. Dan stood, with his back to Arin, making sure he was somehow in contact with the pink Rhodonite. Not that Dan was afraid-oh shit what was that! 

“Arin.”

“Not now bro. I think I can use some of this tech.”

“But Arin,” Dan turned clutching onto the rolled up sleeve of his friend’s jacket. “I think I saw something.”

“Probably a racoon or whatever.”

“We’re in Australia, they don’t have racoons.”

“Alright a kangaroo, who cares? It won’t kill you.”

“But you told me all the wildlife in Australia could kill me.” 

Arin chuckled, yeah he remembered saying that alright, it was partly true, this continent, whilst being extremely bloody hot also had quite a fair few deadly animals. He had once upon a time, whilst teaching the red Gem about Earth, made up a few far fetched stories, it had always been a laugh to see Dan believe them, until Suzy or Barry would spoil his fun. Now ignoring him, Arin stuck his head back into the panel he had removed from the drill, there was a mother board in here still relatively in tact that he could use. 

“Arin, can we go home?”

“Soon buddy, just be patient.”

Dan mumbled, his eyes still looking warily around them, the red earth and holes carved into the rocks were totally creeping him out. There were sounds of footsteps echoing in the canyon but Dan couldn’t really be sure, he was distracted by the soft tinkering of Arin behind him. His hand was now fisted in the hem of Arin’s jacket, happy to have some sort of contact, maybe he should of convinced Brian to come with them. Although, the ninja would probably of just teased him relentlessly. Eventually he began to get bored, his eyes growing heavy as he listened to Arin work, he had completely forgotten about the danger until he saw it, clear as day under the hot Australian sun. There was a shadow lurking near one of the holes, it’s bright turquoise eyes focused on Dans before it smirked and disappeared.

“Ok fuck this shit!” Dan whimpered trying to pull Arin away from the machine.

“Dude, come on I’m almost done.”

“Arin.” Dan grasped onto the Rhodonite’s shoulders and spun him around so they were face to face. “There is something here with us. Don’t fucking smile! I am scared and I want to go home!”

“Alright alright.” Arin knew when enough was enough. “Just two minutes and I can pull this out.”

“Fine!” The Red Cummingtonite snapped before turing away and summoning his weapon, the blood red katana being pulled from his Gem and held defensively in front of him.

“You know for someone who was suppose to be a fierce ninja warrior, you’re a fucking pansy.”

“Shut up Arin.” Danny’s eyes scoured the cliff side, yelping suddenly as a rather large rock was thrown their way. His katana sliced through it with ease, but another was quickly following suit. “This isn’t wildlife Arin!”

“Jesus Christ dude! What the fuck?” Arin turned, somewhat evil laughter erupting from the creepy atmosphere around them. He summoned his canon, and the laughter suddenly died off. Quick as a rabbit, a dark shadow emerged from one of the holes and darted down the canyon. “After it Dan!”

“Arin wait!” Danny took off after his friend, the both of them catching up to the mysterious shadowed creature. It had the advantage though, it knew the Kindergarden inside out, obvious when it had led them into a dead end and disappeared. Dan held onto his katana, his eyes scanning the dead end littered with different sized holes, Arin was fuming, a nice bruise forming on his forehead from the knock before. 

“Where are you hiding you little punk?” The pink Rhodonite saw movement, straight away, no hesitation in his movements he let a shot go, the plasma energy exploding near the entrance to a rather small hole. 

“Woah Arin! Jesus!” Danny jumped back when the shot exploded, watching as a thin figure darted out of the hole tossing a small stone in their direction, a rather pissed off look on his face. Dan noticed the gem on the strangers forehead, an Aquamarine by the look of him. He grasped Arin’s arm, applying pressure and lowering his friend’s canon. “Dude come on, he’s an Aquamarine, he’s not gonna be too much trouble.”

“Hey! You don’t know the first thing about me jew fro!”

“Jew fro?”

“Hey shut up dude! Have you been watching us?” Arin snarled.

“Well yeah! You’re in my home!”

“What’s with his weird voice Arin?”

“It’s an accent Dan. Listen. No Gem lives here, this place has been abandoned for a long time.”

“Nuh uh! I live here. Always have, and you keep coming here and stealing my stuff!”

“Arin I thought you said the Kindergarden was deactivated.”

“It is! You can’t live here. When did you emerge?”

The Aquamarine Gem seemed thoughtful, suddenly his Gem glowed, showing them a projection of his time spent in the Kindergarden. When he had emerged, his time spent alone, encountering humans for the first time, the first time he had been injured, when he had seen Arin with Suzy. All of it flashed by in an instant, showing each and every moment he had spent bored amongst the machines in cliff sides.

“Woah dude you’ve been here forever. Why did you come out this time?”

“Well truthfully, I was bored and wanted to fuck with you.” The grin that split the Aquamarine’s face was positively evil, a small chuckle escaped him as he tossed the rock he had been holding in his hand, up and down.

“Arin. He’s a douche but we can’t leave him here.”

“Why not?”

“Are you gonna take me with you? Yes!”

“Well, I-uh.” Arin frowned, yes he had been the one to bring Dan home, and Dan had been the one to bring Brian home, it kind of felt like the Crystal Grumps were becoming a home for misfits. He looked to the Aquamarine, studying his thin frame and the oh so innocent look on his face. Man somehow Arin realised he would probably regret this decision, sighing he nodded. The Aquamarine jumped excitedly, sliding down the ravine and pulling to a stop next to them.

“So where do you guys live? I’ve seen you come on the funny platform before but I’ve never been able to use it.”

“You mean the warp pad? Look first things first, we’re going to give you a name.”

“Why?”

“Because man it’s what we do alright? Like for example I’m Arin not Rhodonite, this is Dan not Red Cummingtonite. Get it?”

“Why does that sound dirty?”

“Oh my god shut up!” Dan sighed running a hand through his short curled hair.

“Alright, enough. How about Cody?”

“Ew no!”

“Alright genius. You pick. Stupid bloody Gem, Dan accepted his name right off the bat!”

“Well I kinda didn’t have much in my vocabulary at that stage Arin.” 

“I like Ross.”

“Alright fine. Ross come on, we’ll take you home to meet the others.”

“Can you introduce me to the pink one?”

“Holly?” Dan asked confused.

“The pink one with wings. She’s hot!”

“God damnit Ross."


	6. Ultimate Grump

“Come on man, Fuse with me.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because Fusion is serious Arin, it’s not for fun.”

“Eugh, you’re such a Homeworld Gem.”

“Shut the fuck up.” There was no malice behind Dan’s words as he giggled in response to Arin’s shocked face, a smile splitting the pink Gem’s features before he too broke into a fit of giggles. Since arriving on Earth and being accepted into the Crystal Grumps Dan had spent years trying to prove himself to them, going on missions, hanging back, using his healing voice and fighting when necessary. Arin always believed in him and the two had suddenly become as thick as thieves, Suzy had accepted him as well, it took Barry and Holly a little longer but Dan soon became almost a part of their family. Life as a Crystal Grump was pretty chilled compared to what he had been through on Homeworld, and although Dan was quite open about some things, there were other’s that he kept quite close to his chest.

“Come on man.”

“No Arin. Fusion isn’t a game. It’s a personal thing, it’s serious, you use it in battle not to just play around in the temple.”

“You know we would be awesome. I mean with your voice, charm and my devilish good looks we’d be unstoppable.” 

“You’re an idiot.” Dan giggled, throwing his thin frame back onto the couch, wrapped in a blanket as he rolled his eyes. “You’re really into this aren’t you?”

“Yeah man! It would be so fucking awesome.”

“Alright.”

“We’d be so perfect- wait, really?”

“Yeah man. Fuck it, let’s do it!” 

“Oh my god!” Arin grinned, pulling Dan off the couch in one swift motion, the blanket falling to the floor in a crumpled heap. 

“Woah hold on a second baby girl. If we’re going to do this we do it my way alright?”

“Yeah sure whatever.”

“Don’t whatever me Arin.” Dan did his best to try and act cross, hands on his hips and an eyebrow raised, his blue eyes watching Arin jump up and down on the balls of his feet. Man this was going to be so different from the times he and Blood fused. They had always been rather one sided, Blood had never been a dancer and Dan had always had to compensate for that, but seeing Arin, grinning ear to ear he knew this was gonna be a lot different.

“So come on.”

“Hang on a second, I-I-just let me lead for a bit, get the feel again ya know.”

“Alright Dan.” Arin stood still, not wanting to scare the other Gem away, Dan closed the distance between them, grasping one of his hands whilst the other being placed on Arin’s back. Suddenly he pulled the pink Gem towards him, moving shit out of his way with one foot and keeping his balance with the other. Dan lead them around the room, it was nice, it was formal but it wasn’t fun. Arin frowned, fusing with Dan was suppose to be awesome, not some choreographed dance that he didn’t even know the moves to. It was more like a ridiculous military drill than an actual Fusion dance. 

“Hey what’s wrong big cat?” Dan asked before watching a wicked smirk appear on the other Gem’s face. Scarred eyebrow raised in confusion, Dan suddenly felt the tables turn, Arin’s steps became more focused, using his body weight to lead the leaner Gem around the room. It felt weird not to be the one in control.

“Just relax man.” Arin chuckled as he spun Dan away from him before bringing them back in close again a huge smile on his face. The Red Cummingtonite seemed uneasy, but the braver Arin got with the movements the more his friend seemed to relax and follow his lead. “See it’s not hard.”

“You’re making me hard.” Dan joked with a wide shit eating smirk.

“Dude, gross.”

“Come on, it’s been a long time since I’ve done this.”

“Don’t worry baby, I’ll go easy on you.”

“Arin!” Danny giggled his face thrown back in laughter as the pink Rhodonite suddenly dipped him, Dan’s lithe frame arched perfectly against Arin, their laughter echoed in the room as he supported the blue projection’s weight, their Gems glowing between them. White light flooded the Grump Space, their Gem’s shifting and changing, a new form emerging with giggles flowing from their lips.

“Oh my God. This is awesome! We are awesome. A mirror, I need a mirror.” The large Fusion stumbled around the room before approaching the reflection on the TV. They were a soft purple hue, their Gems darker, more like an Iolite than what they had before. There were four arms of course, two Arin’s his Gem visible on the back of one hand, their thumbs, they realised were a mixture between normal and a little rounded. Their hair a mass of curly purple hues, a blonde streak down one side, each eye, only two of them but one pink pupil, the other bright blue.

“So cool! Wow this feels so awesome. I mean relaxing yet invigorating. I feel like I could take on Battle Kid but without the rage.” They chuckled, their voice melodious but slightly deeper than the singer’s normal smooth tone. They jumped around the room, giggling madly before suddenly the purple Fusion stopped by the door.

“Lets tell Suzy!…No!… Why not?… Well…””

“It’ll be fun!” The Fusion seemed torn for a second before they burst out of the Grump Space, they bumped into Holly and stuttered out a small apology before darting down the hallway. They found Suzy, leant over her work and sneaking behind her they each placed an hand over her eyes, a wicked smirk on their lips. “Guess who?”

“Arin?” Suzy chuckled as she pried their hands from her eyes, noticing the shade of skin and gasping, she turned in her seat and let her green eyes scan the form before her. This Fusion wasn’t hard on the eyes and with those mop of curls she knew who it was her husband had managed to coerce into Fusing with him. Suzy rose a brow as she stood, stepping around them slowly as if to get in every inch of this new Gem. “So what do I call you?”

“Uhh- Havidan. No um- Anny. Eugh worse. Darin? Yeah Darin!”

“Darin, alright. Did he talk you into Fusing with him Dan?”

“Well…No!” Darin suddenly took a step back, their four hands indicating to their body. “This is awesome, I am awesome. I mean look at me.”

“I am looking.”

“Of course you are baby, can’t tear your eyes away from this stunning Gem.” Darin’s grin was playful, the hand with Arin’s gem gently caressed his wife’s face as another grasped her wrist and pulled her into a tight embrace. There was a deep blush on Suzy’s cheeks as she pushed away from Darin, her features suddenly became sour.

“Alright, time to unfuse.”

“Noooo.” Darin whined.

“Now.”

“You don’t like me Scoozie?” Darin pouted, they had the sense of mind to look slightly guilty though.

“Of course I do, but I like seeing my husband more.” Suzy’s eyebrows furrowed as she got an idea, she stepped forcefully towards Darin, her hands clutching at their upper arms as she rose on her toes. Her lips were coming closer to their own and she could see the confusion on their features. There was excitement and longing, yet fear and anxiety. As the distance between them was mere millimetres, suddenly there was a white light and a faint popping sound before both Gems landed ass first on the floor.

“Oh God Scooze I’m sorry, I didn’t mean… Oh God! I mean kiss, and no and wrong and-“

“Dan it’s ok, I knew that’d get you to unfuse.”

“Wait, you were totally gonna kiss Darin! I mean that’s me yeah but Dan! But-“

“Relax honey. I know what I’m doing.” Suzy smirked as she moved to walk away from them, her hips swaying as she walked and blowing a kiss over her shoulder at the both of them. 

“Dude. Not cool. No more Darin.”

“Oh come on!”

“No!” Dan stood up a little shaky at the thought that his best friend’s wife almost kissed a Fusion he was a part of. That was wrong, too wrong and there was no way he was going to do that again. Sighing and running a hand through his tangled curls, Danny offered his other hand to Arin, the Rhodonite took it being hurled to his feet and steadied by the taller Gem. 

“Yeah maybe you’re right. Told you we’d be hot though.”

“Shut up Arin. No more fusing.”

“What ever you say.”

They fused a week later, both of them laughing on the couch watching some shitty movie, as Dan had gotten up to get a refill of skittles he had tripped over the blanket falling backwards into Arin’s lap and they realised what had happened as Darin. Turns out it became a common enough of an occurrence that a Fusion dance was no longer needed, it was still a shock each time, to both of them and Suzy. Especially when she wanted her husband back.


	7. Skittles, Coffee and Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some stupid fluff for New Years! 2016 in Australia bitches!!

Danny was in his room, he was finally able to enjoy it by himself. Brian had been told that he was trustworthy, that he could wander around the Temple without an escort and have his own room. Don’t get Dan wrong, he loved Brian with all his heart but since spending every minute of every day with him for the past six months he realised that he needed some other interaction with the other Gems he had come to know. He had helped Brian set up his room, the two of them even creating a link between his own and the silent Ninja’s, for emergencies. After the serious talk with Brian, Dan wanted nothing more than to relax and have a laugh, Arin was the perfect candidate for that. 

Forcing himself to sit up, Dan let a deep sigh escape between his parted lips, blue eyes studied the room, his darkened surroundings. Normally it was bright and fun, but sometimes even he needed a little down time. Meditating was something he still did as often as possible, it helped suppress the urges and keep up his strength to shape shift, the shards always a nagging possibility in the back of his mind. A constant reminder that he could never let his guard down, never completely relax, not one hundred percent. Danny would have to admit that the only time he felt free, felt like he could be the Gem he always wanted to be was when he was around Arin. 

The Pink Rhodonite had a way with others, Arin could make someone laugh with the stupidest things, jokes, impressions, stories; he was an all round caring Gem, both he and Suzy, she had been there for Dan as much as Arin had. Danny knew they both held a very special place in his heart, he would do anything for them, for any of the Grumps, but the connection he had with Arin went all the way back to the Music Box, he could still remember his face the first time the lid was opened and the crank was turned. Humming the tune to himself, Dan got up, stretching his blue projection and listening to his joints pop. He needed to relax and the best person to sort out for company was the Pink Gem.

Leaving the room, the temple door shut quietly behind him, the tall lanky Gem headed towards the kitchen turning the coffee machine on the moment he got there. He still wasn't that big of a fan of Earth food, Arin loved it, most of the Grumps did, but Danny had taken to munching on rocks, after being told it wasn’t an appropriate snack he had shifted to hard shelled candy; like skittles. Coffee was something he simply enjoyed, the flavour, the heat, the rush, it was worth the wait. The soft sound of footsteps caught his attention, Suzy rubbing absently at her eyes, her makeup a little smeared and her hair dishevelled from sleep. She looked fantastic, genuine and the smile that lit up her face was caring and curious.

“You’re up late Dan. Is everything alright?”

“Yeah just trying to find a way to relax. Need a little down time.”

“Oh you poor baby!” Suzy sidled up to him, looping her arms around his thin waist and bringing him in for a tight squeezing hug. Danny returned it, enveloping her in his long arms and drawing her closer, he had never thought he would have friends like this. “Do you need company?”

“Probably.” Dan shrugged, the coffee maker beeped and he let go of Suzy moving his mug beneath the spout and waiting for the liquid gold to fill his cup, he grasped some candy from the shelf earning a disapproving stare from the smaller Gem in his company. 

“Honey try not to get too high on sugar.” Suzy chuckled as she finished off Dan’s coffee for him, the Red Cummingtonite shocked that she knew how he liked it. “Arins' in the Grump Space, go see him and I’ll join my two favourite boys later alright?”

“Thanks Scooze.” Dan took his offered coffee, grabbing the packet of skittles with his other hand. He leant down, kissing Suzy’s cheek gently, his lips barely brushing her delicate projection, she giggled, moving to drape her blanket around his shoulders before he left the kitchen in haste a blush on his skin. Why did he do that? Danny was mentally cursing himself, this was what happened when he let his guard down, when he let himself relax. If Brian had known he would be chastising him with death glares and words the others couldn’t hear. Danny found it difficult to admit that he was happy, that for the first time in thousands of years his life was something he now believed was worth living. He took it one day at a time, trying to enjoy what life threw at him, whether it was a corrupted Gem or simply hanging out, Danny knew that things were only going to get better. He reached the door, knocking once quietly before swinging it open carefully balancing his coffee.

“Hey Arin?” Danny asked, peeking into the Grump Space, he had the blanket wrapped around him, the coffee in one hand and the packet of skittles clutched in the other. “You free?” 

“Yeah man.” Arin grinned over the back of the couch, shifting to one side to give Dan some room. When he first arrived on Earth, to defend the planet and the human race, Arin never would of thought that he would be where he was today. Married, surrounded by friends, with other Gems he was proud to call his family, the way it had grown since first coming to Earth was absolutely amazing to him. For the longest time, Arin thought it was only going to be the four of them, now there were six and although sometimes the Temple felt crowded, he had never felt more at home than he did right now.

Danny shuffled towards the couch, the blanket dragging behind him and making it look like he was draped in royal robes. He set the coffee down before slumping onto the couch with a dull thud. Bright blue eyes watched Arin, the Rhodonite carefully flicking the television over to the gaming system, a brightly coloured game flashing up on the screen. Danny liked these times the best, when he could come in, sit in relative silence and just watch Arin play for hours. Other times they would simply chatter, talk about everything and nothing. Hanging out with Arin was nothing like hanging out with Brian, both of them Dan would classify as his best friends, but there was just something about the Pink Gem that had him relaxed most of the time.

Eight-bit music filled the room, the sound soothing, drowning out the small sips of Dan’s coffee and Arin’s calm breathing, the two of them were silent, one concentrating on the game the other, content to watch. Danny slid further into the couch, Arin had moved onto the floor to be closer to the screen so the Homeworld Gem had taken the chance to stretch out on the soft material. The blanket was draped over him, some falling around Arin’s shoulders and neck, the pink Gem seeming indifferent to the intrusion. After a few more minutes, Dan realised he was bored, he poked Arin, his finger sinking slightly into the soft flesh of his friend’s shoulder. There was no reaction so he tried again, Arin shrugging him off this time.

“Dude what’s gotten into you today?” Arin paused the game, looking over his shoulder at the long lanky Gem that was sprawled out behind him on the Grump couch, Danny made an over dramatic sigh, mumbling into the couch cushions before he practically rolled off the side. Dan’s midsection hit Arin’s back causing him to shift forward, the Homeworld Gem and blanket both landing on the floor with a dull thud. That wasn’t enough for Danny though, he continued to whine as he poked Arin in the small of his back, his finger finding each and every vertebrae. “Seriously, you’re in a weird mood.”

“Yeah.” Danny agreed sleepily as he rolled out from behind Arin’s back, he gathered the blanket around him as he sat beside his friend, content to lean on his shoulder and watch him play silently for a few more minutes. The Red Cummingtonite really enjoyed Arin’s company, he could relax around the other Gem, let the stress of his life sink to the back of his mind. Danny enjoyed days like this, there were no corrupted gems, no mysteries to solve, every Grump was able to simply enjoy their down time. Yes it was four in the morning, the Grumps didn’t really stick on any schedule but this was generally unheard of, most had retired at this hour, Danny was glad that Arin and Suzy were up, otherwise he would probably be still miserable in his room.

“Danny, you’re giving me a dead shoulder.” Arin chuckled shoving the Red Cummingtonite slowly, Dan’s weight lifted briefly before he settled back down onto Arin’s lap, curling up on his side and hugging the blanket closer the packet of skittles rattling in his hands. The Pink Rhodonite shifted slightly so he could move the wii-mote freely without hitting the other Gem in the face, he didn’t even bat an eyelash at Dan’s new position, he simply accommodated to the other so he could continue to play and they could continue to hang out. Two levels later Danny was moving again. Arin paused the game simply waiting for the taller Gem to get comfortable. He didn’t expect the Red Gem to settle between his legs, his back pressed against Arin’s round stomach as he pulled the blanket around himself. Arin shrugged, his elbows resting on Danny’s shoulders, the Wii-mote on the lankier Gem’s chest as he started the game up again.

“Hey Arin?”

“Yeah buddy?”

“Thanks for putting up with me.” Dan smiled up at the Pink Gem, watching the small blush that spread across his cheeks. He could of easily made the situation more awkward, made some joke or gesture that would leave Arin uncomfortable, but Dan couldn’t do it. He didn’t want to ruin the comfortable and relaxing atmosphere, he wanted to enjoy the company and let his friend know that he was thankful, to all the Grumps for giving him and by extension Brian a chance.

“No problem. We’re friends. Hanging with you isn’t a chore babe.” Arin chuckled hearing the musical laugh that escaped between Dan’s lips, just the sound was enough to relax him, to drain the tension from his shoulders and the room. He ruffled a hand through the Healer’s mass of curls before he heard the door open, turning his body he watched Suzy enter, she was balancing three mugs steaming with tea, she placed them on the coffee table nearby smiling at her boys. 

Suzy leant down kissing her husband on the temple and brushing the hair out of his face. She was thankful that Dan had come along, Arin had never really been the same since the rebellion, since he had left Homeworld and his friendship with Jon had been fractured. Slowly over the years Suzy had noticed Arin’s lack of effort in everything he did, he had lost one of his closest friends and Dan had come along at the perfect time to fill that void. Suzy studied the two of them, snuggled together and watching the television intently.

“You two are so fucking cute.” The Emerald cooed as she moved to sit down beside Danny, the taller Gem smiling and offering her some of the skittles and blanket. She took the offered candy, snuggling in beside the Red Cummingtonite. Suzy could feel the warmth from her husband as he stretched his leg out to frame her arching back, her front was pressed into Dan’s side, the three of them just letting the soft music from the game fill the room. “You two know I love you right?”

“Love you too Suze.”

“Really?”

“Of course doofus!” Suzy grinned as she poked Dan’s chest. The three of them sat in relative silence, sipping tea and speaking quietly beneath the volume of the game’s music. The hours crept on, the sun beginning to peak over the ocean the only hint that it was becoming daylight was the small cracks in the blinds, despite that the Grump Space remained dark. Arin was beginning to tire, his form slouching as well as the other two Gems, they didn’t seem to be wanting to go anywhere either. He felt Danny begin to hum, his voice heavy with sleep but still melodious, Arin’s muscles began to relax as Dan’s smooth tone filled the quiet room.

“I woke up.  On a wave that crashes.  
When will the tide turn.  
And if you leave.  
With only ashes.  
Can’t rebuild what has been burned.  
And down the road,   
with all the seeds grown. And benefit of view.  
We throw away.  
The things we want most.  
Depending on our mood.”

Dan’s voice faded out to a soft humming before falling silent, the television nothing but a blue screen, the light filtering from it illuminating Suzy’s form. She was snuggled within the blanket pressed tightly to his side. The taller Gem shifted to see Arin with his eyes closed and his breathing steady, he began to peel back the blanket from himself when he felt the Rhodonite’s strong hands still his movements. Danny froze, feeling both Suzy and Arin pull him closer to them.

“Arin, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Shut up and sleep Dan.”

“Ok.”

“Good.” Arin’s voice was muffled but Dan had never felt more comfortable in his life, the other two Gems such a warm presence pressed against him, the low hum from the television being the thing that finally lulled him into sleep. He knew he was letting his guard down, but at this point in time, Dan didn't care.


	8. Sex Kitten

“Suze, you should totally give it a go. Fusing with Dan is like letting all your insecurities and worries just melt away.”

“I’m not some form of relaxation therapy Arin.” Danny muttered between a mouthful of Skittles as he lay sprawled on the Grump couch. His head was on Suzy’s lap, she was sitting next to her husband who was playing some shitty game he had never heard of, his legs were dangled over the arm rest of the couch kicking playfully as Suzy ran her fingers through his wild hair.

“Yeah but you’re so chilled.”

“Thanks, I guess?” Dan chuckled as he craned his neck to look at the two Gems, skittles were in his hands and he offered some of the small colourful candies to the others. “No more Fusing Arin, we’ve had this conversation.”

“Pfft. Please you two Fused last week when you were trying to eat that giant gummi bear.” 

“Yeah and Darin made it possible.” Arin grinned.

“Please, we don’t mention that. I still feel sick.” 

“Says the one still eating junk food so he can ride out a sugar high later.”

“Skittles keep me going man.” Dan drawled sarcastically as he popped another handful into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. “Besides. You don’t think it’d be weird, me Fusing with Scooze?”

“Nah it’d be awesome, my best friend and my lady. What could go wrong?” Arin grinned, his arm was wrapped around his wife’s shoulders the other moving to ruffle Dan’s hair playfully, the lanky gem swatting him away with laughter. “Come on. Just this once.”

“No Arin.” The both of them spoke together, the pink Rhodonite suddenly seemed upset, a frustrated sigh escaping his parted lips as he threw himself back onto the couch, looking at Suzy and Dan with his best puppy dog look, granted only his wife could see him but she giggled softly. 

“How about-if you two fuse, Dan and I won’t do it for a week?”

“A month!” 

“Wait don’t I get a say in this?” 

“Of course Danny.” Suzy smiled shifting her arm so the taller Gem could sit up on the couch, the blanket fell to the floor and the skittles were placed on the table. 

“Arin, are you sure you wouldn’t mind that we Fuse? I can’t deny that I’m a little curious.”

“Please! I wanna see!” 

“Fine. Come on Dan.” Suzy pecked her husband on the cheek before she stood from the couch and took the Homeworld Gem by his wrist, pulling him towards her suddenly. “Don’t think, just do Danny!”

The Red Cummingtonite was a little caught off guard, swaying on his feet slightly as he stumbled towards Suzy. She steadied him by the shoulders, making sure his balance was perfect before letting go and stepping away, she moved her hips slowly at first, closing her eyes and feeling the music only she could hear. Dan watched her for a few of the imaginary beats, her hips swaying, her arms moving carefree, it was enough for Dan to join in, to start moving his own hips and close the distance between him and Suzy. He was a little self conscious what with Arin watching, but eventually they both synced up, Suzy taking that moment to grasp Dan’s wrists and pull him flush against her.

White light filled the room, morphing and shaping into a new body for their gems to settle into. A tall figure finally appeared, four arms, one obviously Suzy’s with her intricate tattoo designs, they were a soft teal colour almost relaxing and easy on the eyes, their gems becoming more like the colour of a Larimar. Their hair was wavy, one side shaved and the other a beautiful blond streak running the length. They wore a singlet top with a hole torn in the middle to showcase Dan’s Gem, shorts stopped halfway down their thighs and what was once Suzy’s boots appeared to be leg warmers. Four sets of eyes, set beneath perfect eyebrows, one with Dan’s signature scar, two eyes were his wife’s beautiful green, two Danny’s calming blue, all four of them lined in perfect eye makeup. 

“Wow you guys look great!”

“Thanks baby!” Their voice was soft and caring, dripping with Danny’s musical quality and Suzy’s love for him, it was kind of interesting to see them, confident, relaxed, happy, the whole situation made Arin smile.

“What do you wanna be called?” 

“Sex Kitten.” The words were delivered with such a dead panned tone that Arin thought they were serious for a second, before they burst into laughter and swatted at Arin’s shoulder playfully. “Oh honey I’m just kidding. Call us-Doozy”

“Alright!” Arin grinned, suddenly feeling self conscious as one of Doozy’s hands lingered a little too long on his shoulder. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Arin was beginning to feel a little awkward in their presence, he seemed to not know what to do, whether to hang and play games or lean over and kiss them. This was not something he had accounted for when they Fused. “Well you guys can unfuse now.”

“What? Don’t you want me around baby?”

“Well yeah I do but-can you stop calling me baby?”

“Sure honey bear.”

“No, no. Like no pet names.”

“Aww I guess. But Suzy and Dan call you stuff like that all the time. What’s the difference?”

“I dunno, it’s just awkward.”

“Oh well we wouldn’t want to make our snuggle man awkward now would we?” Doozy grinned as they pulled Arin closer to them, embracing him tightly with their four arms before letting him go and pushing him back on his arse on the Grump Couch. “How about we play some games? That’ll help you relax.”

“I guess.”

“Perfect!” Doozy slumped down on the couch next to Arin, they fell with all the grace that Arin would normally see in Dan, but their arms were right against his own, craving contact much like Suzy. This was not what Arin wanted to deal with for the entire afternoon, but they had made a deal. He watched as they put in a Kirby game, grasping a controller before handing the other to him. They played for hours, chatting and laughing, Arin dodging inappropriate jokes when he could. It was strange, he could deal with both Suzy and Dan separately but when they were together he didn’t know how to act, he didn’t know whether he wanted to snuggle in close or playfully punch them in the shoulder.

“Oh yeah take that! Doozy wins!”

“We’re working together!”

“Well… I collected more stars.” Doozy pouted, poking Arin in his side playfully, they stopped when he recoiled slightly. “Alright, what’s your problem?”

“What do you mean?” Arin tried his best to look innocent, although he couldn’t meet their eyes, his gaze seemed to be focused more on his hands which were clutching the controller in his lap. He heard Doozy huff, a frustrated sigh escaping their lips, their controller clattered to the ground, before they turned on the couch two hand’s on their hips two others grasping Arin by the shoulders and forcing him to face the Fusion

“You’re acting weird.”

“Am I?” Arin let out a nervous laugh. 

“Seriously, what the fuck? This is getting awkward.”

“It is. Jesus I don’t know Dooze, it’s just like-I dunno how to act? I guess?”

“What do you mean Arin?”

“Well I mean you’re like my wife and my best friend mushed together to form this awesome Gem.” Arin made a motion with his hands, clasping them together before wringing his fingers. “But I don’t know whether I want to kiss you or joke around with you.”

“Oh honey, you’re uncomfortable.”

“Yeah, I guess so? It’s stupid.”

“Why didn’t you say something?” Doozy grinned, they leant down, lips soft against Arin’s cheek, he noticed that Suzy’s hands were grounding him and heavy on his shoulders, Dan’s were pulled away, his eyes screwed shut as a white light filled the room. His wife was still kissing his cheek, her lips delicate against his skin. Dan was now on the couch averting his eyes from the display, a gesture he had briefly been a part of. 

“That better baby?” Suzy grinned as she pulled away smiling, Arin returning the gesture as he pulled his wife onto his lap and let her settle there. 

“Much. No more Doozy for awhile alright?” 

“And no more Darin either.”

“Deal. I’m not fusing with either of you two again!” Dan stood, his face a little red and unable to make eye contact. “Seriously, each time I’ve fused with you I’ve almost kissed the other. Sorry but that’s too weird for me. I’m out!” Dan let his long hair fall over his face to cover the blush on his cheeks as he left the room swiftly and silently.

“What’s with him?” Suzy asked shifting in Arin’s lap to face him.

“Danny talks a big game, but I don’t think he has ever backed it up.”

“Mister Sexbang all talk and no action huh?”

“Yeah, I think you scared him off Suze.”

“Poor guy. I promise I’ll be gentler next time.”


	9. Ornate Dagger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be without internet for awhile so I hope this ties you guys over.
> 
> Also in my grump art tag on my Tumblr linked at the end of the chapter, there are a few new pictures. 
> 
> Enjoy.

It was times like these, when Danny was curled up on his bed, gem shards poking painfully through his skin that he missed Blood the most. What was it the humans said? Uh yes, ‘misery loves company’. Tears stung at his eyes, he knew he would have to try shapeshifting them away again, meditation was the best way to concentrate, but without Blood; Dan was having trouble calming down. He had been held up in his temple room for days now, he was sure the other Grumps were concerned about him, lucky he could still play the new to Earth card and say that he was a little overwhelmed. Wiping the tears from his eyes, Danny sat up, crossing his legs and closing his eyes, a few deep breaths escaped from his lips as he tried once again. 

Meditation was not exactly Dan’s thing, yes he liked it, and since leaving Homeworld he had become a relaxed and chilled Gem compared to what he had once been. Meditation reminded him though of the shards that grew from his projection and anchored his gem down, it reminded him that it had been way too long since he had seen his partner and friend. Dan knew that Blood would be alright, that somehow he had made the right choice and refused to fight. He would give anything to see him again. Concentrating, his brows furrowing, Dan felt the shards once again retreat as he shape shifted his form back to what the Crystal Grumps came to think of as normal. No shards, no sharp teeth, no blood. No, he was Dan, the loveable goof, not the once psychotic cannibal ninja.

“Dan!” He heard Arin calling his name, after a quick glance at the mirror, admiring his now shard-less body before he opened his temple door only to come face to face with the pink Gem in question.

“Hey.”

“There you are. Feeling better?”

“Yeah. Of course.”

“Great! We were going to go scavenge at the old war site, wanna come?”

“The old war site?”

“Yeah!” Arin grasped Danny’s wrist, pulling him over to the warp pad with the rest of the Crystal Grumps, Barry, Holly and Suzy were waiting patiently for the two of them. Arin let go of him immediately as they stood on the pad, the green light appearing around them.

The temple disappeared before their eyes, shrouded with green, the feeling of warping was one that they all become accustomed to over time. As Dan’s vision cleared, he saw what was once a torn battlefield. There were craters and hilts of weapons exposed in the soil, he could see that once upon a time this had been a barren wasteland, since then though, mother nature had taken control. Grass covered the land, small shrubs, tall trees and the sweet smell of flowers filled the air. Dan had missed the war, he had been locked away in the music box for the entire time, something he was still eternally grateful for.

“So it happened here?”

“Yeah man! Barry led us against the Gems of Homeworld to protect Earth.”

“It’s been quiet for such a long time.” Holly announced as she looked through the rubble nearby, nudging it with her foot.

“We come here often to scavenge for things, old Homeworld tech, weapons, anything that could be useful. If it’s a danger than we bubble it and return to the temple.” Suzy explained as she hefted a fairly sizeable sword from the ground with no effort at all, she twirled it for a moment before placing it aside.

“Bubble it, like what you did with me?”

“Yeah Dan, like I did with you.” Barry confessed, there was no doubt that the Gem still felt absolutely awful about the scenario, he did everything he could to make it up.

“I think I need to be alone for awhile.” Dan muttered, gently patting Arin and Suzy on their shoulders before he pushed past them, heading towards a small hill to get the high ground. He had forgiven Barry, really he had, but sometimes it would dawn on him how long he had been locked away for. How long he had been trapped and cracked with no one paying attention to him. Living with the Crystal Grumps had been perfect, a change that he didn’t know he was entitled too. He was safer on Earth, much more so than the horrors he would of endured if he remained on Homeworld. Fighting, crushing and eating Gems, that was not him, not anymore. He wondered briefly how long Blood had kept up the charade, would he of been paired again with another Ninja Warrior or would they have retired the old Bloodstone? Dan wasn’t sure and thinking about it was causing nothing but headaches.

“Do you think Dan’s gonna be ok?” Arin asked as he joined Suzy in her search, riffling through years of forgotten garbage to find something that was once useful. Arin normally loved these scavenger missions, but with Dan feeling low, today just didn’t seem like his kinda day.

“He always pulls through honey, he’ll be fine.”

“I guess.” Arin looked over his shoulder to the silhouette on the hill before he shrugged and went back to the task at hand, his fingers curling around an ornate dagger before he plucked it from the soil and tossing it behind him. There was a faint clatter and crack as it hit the ground. 

“Just take your time with him, he’s still new and he’s been missing his old friend something dreadful. Dan will come around, he needs time that’s all.” Suzy leaned in and kissed her husband on the cheek, looping her arm in his own, her fingers moving down to hold his hand. “Just relax Arin, everything will be al-“ A shadow fell over them.

Arin stopped, feeling the change in the atmosphere, his grip tightened on Suzy, as he turned around sharply on his feet. Standing a few feet from them was a man clad entirely in black, his skin was yellow, his eyes wide in fear and confusion, a Gem glowed in his chest, and ninja stars appeared in his hands. What the hell? Where did this guy come from? Arin’s eyes narrowed as he assessed the situation, Suzy had stood beside him her hand hovering near her Gem ready to summon her weapon. This wasn’t going to be good, this Gem seemed confused, his hard eyes staring at the two of them with distrust, his body already lowering into a fighting stance.

“Uhh- Barry!” Arin yelped as a star came towards him, Suzy’s mace knocking it from the sky for it to disintegrate into dust. “Jesus Christ!” 

Concentrating his power, Arin summoned his cannon, his Gem building it around his arm as he took aim at the offending Ninja. He heard the footsteps of Barry and Holly, at least they heard his cry for help. This strange Gem was not going to back down easily, he still seemed ready to fight, even as he took a few steps away from the gathering Crystal Grumps.

“Arin look out!” 

Was that Suzy? Dan looked up from where he had been absently picking blades of grass and watching as the wind swept them away. He tried to focus on the roads below him, scanning them for Suzy. He had definitely heard her, heard the stress and anxiety in her voice. Standing slowly, Dan saw them, his friends, circling another figure, one that looked all too familiar. No, it couldn’t be. He took off down the hill, his bare feet thudding painfully on the dirt road as he closed the distance between them. As he got closer, tears stung at his eyes, the black and yellow shape a welcoming site, he knew who it was, he would never forget that Gem, that look, he had spent years searching for him.

The old Bloodstone looked just like Dan had remembered, disgruntled, stern and always ready to fight. His stance was sloppy though, his form looked exhausted, his face hidden beneath the mask weary and tired. Dan never really thought whether Brian had been looking for him, but seeing him here, on Earth made him realise that it was always a possibility. They had been partners, fighting the odds set against them and building a bond that had been stronger than the other Ninjas’.

“Blood!” Danny screamed, his hand rubbing at his tearing eyes and blurring vision. The Crystal Grumps stopped, hearing his cry, the Bloodstone froze, his weapons dematerialising in his hands, his body shifting slightly to accommodate what was going to happen. Danny closed the distance, throwing his arms out and launching his lanky body towards Blood, tackling the Red Gem to the ground in a loud giggle. “Blood, oh I missed you! I searched every where for you! You’re alive!” 

“Did he say Brian?” Arin asked watching as the Ninja tried to disentangle himself from Dan, pushing at the other Gem’s curly hair and looking on with what appeared to be pure hatred in his eyes. Dan eventually let the other Gem up, still clinging to the Ninja’s shoulders, with a look of pure happiness on his features.

“Of course I was worried.” Silence. “Well I looked for you when I got out.” No answer. “Did you put me in the music box?” Nothing. “You did? But why Blood?” Bupkis. “For my safety? Well… I can’t stay mad at you!”

“Is he having a conversation with himself?” Holly muttered under her breath, watching as Suzy shrugged in response.

“I knew he was crazy.” Barry whispered.

“Uh hey Dan? Wanna introduce us?”

“Huh? Oh Of course! Arin, this is my partner Blood! Blood this is Arin, Suzy, Barry and Holly, my friends.”

“Blood? Oh I thought you said Brian!”

“That’s perfect Arin! Ninja Brian!” Again Danny pulled Blood towards him, throwing his arms around his shoulders and embracing him tightly, the Ninja seemingly less than amused but not trying to pull away this time.

“Uh. Does he talk?”

“Of course! He just prefers not too unless he likes you!”

“Well-nice to meet you, I guess?” Arin held out his hand, only to withdraw it a few seconds later as he received nothing but a glare in return from the Ninja, this guy was seriously putting Arin on edge. Although if Dan trusted him, then he would have to as well, he hadn’t seen his friend this happy in such a long time. “So uh Dan, this is your partner?”

“Yeah we fought for Homeworld together, until I-I didn’t want to anymore. Brian says he’s the one that sealed me away and sold me to Barry. For a fucking good price I hope.” Dan muttered the last part under his breath glaring at the newly appointed Ninja Brian. The silent ninja didn’t seem too phased by Danny’s staring, in fact he was studying each of the other Grumps with something that could only be described as pure hatred in his eyes. “Brian, play nice. These are my friends alright?” 

_’Don’t fucking patronise me.’_

“I’ll fucking say what ever I want. I may not be able to hold a grudge but I’m still pissed you locked me away. You owe me big time!”

“Dan.” Arin spoke, looking around at the rest of the team, a few weapons were still drawn and most of them were still tense and ready for battle. “I know you trust Brian, so I will too, but, you’re freaking everybody out.”

“Am I?” Dan looked confused, then apologetic, then ashamed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean, it’s just that I can understand Brian. I mean one day you guys will too but I guess I should be translating as well.”

“Danny that would be great, also he can stay with you where you can keep an eye on him until he proves himself on Earth.”

“What? Barry come on! That’s not fair!”

“My rules Danny. Like it or not.”

Dan turned to look at Ninja Brian, studying the yellow projection, their conversation silent and unknown to the other Grumps. It was sort of a catch twenty two but Danny really had no choice. Barry had done the same to him when he had first arrived, he had stayed with Arin and Suzy which had been awkward beyond belief. 

“What do you think Bri?”

_’Yeah whatever.’_

“Alright we’re in.”

“Great.” Suzy muttered under her breath, earning a glare from Brian only to have her return it. She was not going to be bullied by the Bloodstone. “Welcome to the Crystal Grumps Brian. If you hurt any of my boys, I will kill you.”

_’I like her.’_ Brian spoke privately to Dan, a small smile hidden beneath his mask. As Barry began to lead the Crystal Grumps back to the warp, Dan and Brian hung behind, Arin turning every few seconds to watch them curiously. 

“Brian, what happened to you?” Danny’s voice was quiet, hoping to keep their one sided conversation hidden from the others. He still felt the elation in his chest from finding his partner, and call him selfish but he just wanted to spend a little more time with him, alone.

_’What do you mean?’_

“Well what happened after you poofed me?”

_’After you abandoned me? I was retired.’_

“Don’t be like that Bri.” Danny felt guilt build in his chest, tugging at his heart strings and almost causing tears to form in his eyes. “What do you mean retired?”

_’The Authority believed I wouldn’t be able to be paired again. They placed me in the dagger, forced me in there and I guess sent me to Earth to be used in the war.’_

“I can’t believe you’ve been here the whole time.”

“Hey! Hurry up you two so we can leave!” Suzy was waving them over, Arin and the other Grumps by her side, they all still seemed a little nervous. 

“Coming!” Danny proclaimed his hand leading Brian towards the warp. “Please try to behave Bri.”

_’No promises.’_

“Brian!” The light of the warp engulfed the Crystal Grumps bringing the now _six_ of them home safely.


	10. Urban Legends

“Happy Halloween Kevin!” Suzy peaked from behind the couch, pinning the younger Gem into a tight embrace and tickling him. Laughter escaped the pair, Dan and Arin stopping from their video game for a few moments to watch the young one squirm and giggle on the couch, pleading with Suzy to stop. Shrugging Dan went back to his candy, happy to have a break from the spooky game Arin insisted they play for the channel. He hated this time of year, the fans and Arin got such a kick out of hearing him scream like a baby, not to mention the other Grumps simply loved watching stupid human horror movies. 

“Suzy stop!” Kevin giggled pushing her away with chuckle as they both settled on the couch to catch their breath. 

“You almost pee yourself Kevin?” Arin teased before unpausing his game, Dan shuddering beside him and drawing the blanket tighter around his thin frame.

“Shut up!” 

“Arin!”

“Sorry Suzy.”

“Are you going trick or treating Kev?” Suzy asked her eyes drifting between the young Gem on the couch and her boys playing a horror game.

“Nah not tonight, there’s enough candy in the house anyway.”

“Not if those two over there have anything to say about it.’ Suzy giggled, perfect timing as she caught both of them with a large mouthful of candy, Dan was eating skittles but that was no shock, Arin had a chocolate bar between his teeth. “I swear you two act younger than Kevin sometimes.” 

“Whatever Scooze. Arin look out!” Dan pointed to the screen yet at the same time retreated further into the little cocoon he had blanketed himself in. This earned a chuckle from the rest of the Gems in the room.

“Hey Suzy. Can you tell me a scary story?”

“Of course hun.” Suzy threw a blanket around herself and Kevin, snuggling into the couch, she grabbed a bowl of candy and held it in her lap, eating a piece in thought. “Do you want the one about the Werewolf, or the Vampire?”

“I want something from Homeworld, surely there were creepy stories about Gems.”

“More than you know.” Arin muttered beneath his breath, the game audio drowning it out with it’s low moans and creepy score.

“Well I do know one.” Suzy muttered in thought, trying to remember how this particular tale went, she was a little rusty on her Homeworld lore. “Alright, here goes. A long time ago Kevin, back on Homeworld, it was ruled by four powerful Gems, the Diamonds. Each one ruled over their own-department if you will, but one of them was more controlling than the others. There’s a Legend that he created terrifying monsters, creatures that covered Homeworld in fear and shadows.” Suzy took a breath, wrapping the blanket tighter around Kevin, she noticed that the game had been paused, Arin and Danny somewhat paying attention to her while they continued to snack on their candy, quietly talking amongst themselves.

“These creatures would prowl Homeworld, sharp teeth gnashing looking for those naughty Gems that had crossed the Diamonds, any Gem that betrayed Homeworld would be tracked down mercilessly by these creatures. They would hunt a little Gem like you across the universe, slowly closing in on you, making you fear every turn, question every decision. They worked in pairs, circling you like prey, herding you towards the final battle, one that you couldn’t win.”

Dan had paused, eyes now completely focused on Suzy, a handful of chocolate only inches away from his mouth. The blanket he had wrapped around himself had fallen limply to the ground, pooled around his waist in shock. He knew this story, one that was told to all Gems that started to free think, like the Boogeyman tale on Earth, it was designed to keep Gems in line. Little did Suzy know, that this was more truth than lore, that she was describing something that most on Homeworld have never even dreamed of.

“You would lose, the creatures would tease you, playing with you like a cat and mouse before finally finishing you off, retreating you back into your Gem.” Suzy touched her finger to Kevin’s Gem, the little one yelping slightly and snuggling further into the couch, “they wouldn’t take you back to face your punishment, these monsters would deliver it. Do you know what they would do Kevin?”

The younger gem was shaking his head, both of them engaged in the story that they didn’t witness Dan beginning to sweat, Arin placing his hand on his friend shoulder, trying to shake him and reassure him that it was an old tale, how hadn’t he heard it before? Arin just assumed the red Gem was scared of the story, heaven forbid everyone knew he wasn’t the toughest when it came to anything remotely creepy.

“If you were caught,” Suzy pounced on him grabbing Kevin’s sides in an attempt to scare him, smiling as a small yelp escaped his lips. “If you were caught, the monsters would grasp your Gem, fight over it like ravenous wolves and then you were theirs. To be eaten, consumed, to become one with their own body.”

“Gems ate other Gems?”

“Of course not Kevin, it’s just a scary story. That’s what makes it great, making you believe these monsters are out there.” Suzy ruffled Kevin’s hair, hearing a soft clatter as Danny quickly stood up looking pale and sweating, his foot had stepped on the controller causing the noise to break the silence. 

“Hey Dan, you okay man?”

“Yeah… Yeah I’m good, just need some fresh air ya know?” He began to retreat out of the room, heading for the front door.

“Dan it was just a story!” Suzy called out but she watched as the Blue Projection let the door bang shut behind him, his retreating mop of hair disappearing down the stairs towards the beach below. “I hope I didn’t scare him too badly.”

“Don’t worry about it Suze, I’ll go check on him.” Arin stood wiping his hands on his pants and leaving dirty chocolate smears behind, he moved over to his wife, kissing her cheek gently. He ruffled Kevin’s hair and headed for the door. “Don’t eat all our candy.” He warned before disappearing into the night.

\---

Dan sat on the beach, his legs were pulled up to his chest, his feet close enough to the water that every second wave tickled his toes. He was trying so hard to suppress the evil he knew lurked within him, he could feel them, the shards prodding, growing, supplying constant pressure to the facade he tried so hard to keep up. Suzy’s story had shook the red Gem to the core, had awoken memories he had tried to keep buried. He had been an abomination, he and Brian both, they had followed blindly with what they had been told, destroyed who they had to and consumed countless Gems. Danny not for the first time thought about what could of happened to the Crystal Grumps, had he and Brian not given up their way of life, had he not thrown in the towel and been sealed away. There was a large chance that his friends, the Gems he had grown to love could of been destroyed and consumed by the Manticore, that he could of sought out each and everyone of them and enjoyed it.

Sighing Dan tossed a nearby shell into the ocean, watching as it got lost within the waves and sea foam. Tears were welling in his eyes, stinging and clinging to his lashes before blinking set them free to run down his face. He had been a monster. Was he still one, had he even changed? A frustrated yell escaped his lips, causing him to cough away the unsettling lump that had formed in his throat. The red Gem heard the door open, the slam of the screen on it’s wooden frame, the footsteps careful down the stairs alerted him to another presence. He tried desperately to wipe his tears away, to hide them from Arin, the other Gem moving to sit beside him. Danny turned his head away, allowing his mass of curls to hide his features from his friend. Arin didn’t say anything at first, the two of them sitting in relative silence, the only thing punctuating the night was Dan’s hiccuping sobs and the soft crashes of the waves. 

“Dan. Are you alright?” Arin was met with silence, the Gem beside him curled up on himself, turning further away from him with a shudder that went down his slim frame. Arin frowned, this wasn’t scared Dan, this was something else, a side he hadn’t seen of his friend yet. He reached out, hand falling firmly on Danny’s shoulder, squeezing gently. “I’m here when you’re ready.”

The silence was almost deafening between them, the waves, the odd cry of a gull falling on deaf ears. Dan’s sniffling had stopped, yet he was still turned away. Arin simply sat, watching the sea as he patiently waited for Dan to say something. If his friend wanted to simply stand up and pretend none of this happened than Arin was alright with that, he would find out when the Red Gem wanted him to, he wasn’t going to push anything right now.

“Arin.” Dan’s voice was meek, strained from his crying.

“Yeah?”

“I’m not a monster, a-am I?” His voice broke again, tears falling freely once more, Arin could see them, Dan’s attention focused on the sea as he hiccuped into his own knees, still pulled tightly to his chest.

“No no no. Of course not. Where would you get such a ridiculous notion?”

“Suzy’s story.”

“It was just a legend dude.” Arin muttered, moving closer to Dan so he could wrap his arm around his friend’s shoulder. The other leant into the contact, the gesture causing him to let out a sob that shook his entire body. 

“All legends hold truth.” 

“What are you talking about?” Arin pulled his arm away suddenly as Dan practically jumped from his touch, as if being in contact with his friend had burnt him. 

“Please don't hate me Arin. I didn’t mean it, I didn’t know any better. They made us, tortured us, we tortured them. Oh God, I’m a monster. I-I didn’t, I don’t, it doesn’t stop. I hurt, God I hurt, I’m in pain all the time. No one helps, nothing helps. I just want to eat but then I know I can’t, I’m worried-“

“Woah woah Danny. Calm down!” Arin pulled the taller Gem closer to him, noticing the panic in his eyes and the laboured breath that escaped between his lips. Dan was shaking, pliant beneath Arin’s administrations as he pressed Dan’s back against his chest. “You need to breath buddy, like me. In and out, real slow ok? Can you do that?”

“No, I can’t. Please Arin stop, listen, I need you to-“

“Shhh it’s ok, just do this for me first and then you can tell me. In and out. Come on.”

“Arin, please I need to-“ Danny cut himself off with a moan of pain, his hands moving to his face, clutching at his hair and cradling his scalp. A whimper was pulled from his lips, his breaths fast and erratic, Arin was unsure of what to do, he had never had to deal with Dan like this. Should he get help? “Arin please… don’t hate me.” 

“Just come on man, I know you can do this. Please!” Arin practically begged, hugging Dan close, his head buried into the back of his friend’s neck, curls of hair tickled his nose, sweat from Dan’s skin clung to his cheek. He could feel the other Gem’s breathing, deep shuddering breaths on the inhale, sobbing with pain on the exhale. What he did notice though was it was becoming slower, Dan was trying to mimic Arin’s own breathing, that or he was beginning to shut down, oh shit! “Danny, you still with me buddy?”

Silence.

“Dan?”

“Arin. Don’t look at me.”

“I can’t man, I’m pressed against your back and your jew fro is smothering me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Is there anything I can do?”

“Don’t tell anyone.”

“That?”

“That I’m a monster.”

“You’re not a monster Daniel. You’re my friend, you’re a Crystal Grump. You are the most caring Gem I know, you give the best hugs and you always want to help the others. You’re family.” Arin took a deep breath, as he buried his nose deeper into the crook of Dan’s neck, his nose brushed against something cold and hard, his body freezing slightly, Dan’s did too.

“Please Arin. I’m sorry.” Danny shrugged himself away from the pink Gem’s warm embrace. He sat for a few moments, facing the sea, his back to Arin, as he tried to gather the courage he needed. He wanted to tell the truth, wanted to share this, get the weight off his chest. What if everything went wrong though? “Brian and I have done some horrible things Arin. I have regretted my creation for many thousands of years. I don’t deserve to be here. I don’t deserve your friendship, your kindness, I’m being selfish.”

“Danny, what’s going on?”

“Some stories are true, even sometimes the horrible ones. I was created for a single purpose, to kill.” Silence fell between them, Dan’s blue eyes looking out over the ocean, he didn’t have the guts to say this to Arin’s face, to watch his friend’s heart shatter before his eyes. “Brian and I were partners, tasked to hunt down rogue Gems and destroy them. We use to enjoy it too, a long time ago. We were stupid, didn’t know any better other than to do our job. It wasn’t the destruction that drew me in like it did with Bri, it was the reward. I fight it every day you know? I suppress the urge, but it’s like a drug, nagging and buzzing in the back of my skull. Just one more taste, but it’s never just one more. I fight and I fight and I don’t deserve everything you’ve done for me. I never will. Nothing can make up for what I’ve done.”

“Dan. You’re scaring me.”

“I scare myself too. I can smell what you’d taste like… like strawberries. I can suppress it though, hide it from you, from the others. I hate myself, that I’m a monster and none of you know. None of you even considered it! I could hunt you all down, crush your Gems beneath my hands and consume every single shard. I don’t though, because I’ve grown grateful, attached, I love each and every one of you and I don’t want to be what I was before. I ran away and somehow I guess I’m still running. But I’m tired. I can’t do this anymore.” Dan wiped away a drying tear. His eyes hurt from crying, his throat hurt from forcing himself to speak. He couldn’t hide, with a deep breath he turned around. Shards of Gems destroyed long ago poked through his skin, bloodying and bruising his projected body, his teeth were sharp canines, designed to crush and consume those he caught. He was a monster and now Arin was finally seeing him for what he really was.

“Dan-I-“

“Arin. Arin! Please!”


	11. Urban Legends Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a little short guys, it's just to tie you over until my internet is up and running again.   
> I really wanted to expand on this chapter but I knew if I did I would never finish it.
> 
> Enjoy

“Brian, Brian! We have to go!”

 _‘What did you do?’_ Brian looked on, his eyes piercing into his partners, watching as the taller and lankier Gem rushed around the Ninja’s room gathering what he thought they would need. Not that Brian had a lot of stuff, but Danny had already packed himself a back pack and he knew that the two of them would need to take some supplies.

“I fucked up Bri. We have to go before they bubble us!”

_’What?!’_

“I told Arin, I told him everything.”

_’Why?’_

“Because I couldn’t lie anymore!”

_’You idiot!’_

“I know! Come on stop your bitching and let’s head.”

_‘Why do I hang out with you?’_

“Because as much as you hate me, you love me.” Danny grinned, he was no longer hiding who he was, his mouth filled with sharpened teeth, his skin freckled with the shards of once perished Gems. He slung the back pack over his shoulder, grasped Brian by the wrist and started tugging the Ninja with him towards the Temple door, he was hoping that they could leave before they bumped into any more Gems. Dan wasn’t sure if Arin had told any of the others yet, but he wasn’t about to take chances.

The Temple was mostly quiet, all lights were off and most of the doors were closed. There was a plus to being a Ninja, the two were able to make their way almost silently to the Warp Pad out in the lounge. There was the faint glow of computer monitors yet all the seats were empty, no one was up editing videos, they had probably all retired with a chocolate high. Brian moved over to the pad, waiting for Danny, he watched as his partner quickly grabbed a bowl of candy. Rolling his eyes, Brian waited for Dan to join him, he quickly smacked the Red Cummingtonite on the back of the head before the warp glowed green and they left.

\---

“Ow Brian what the fuck?”

_’Idiot.’_

“Yeah I know. Come on let’s get out of here.” Danny muttered, now that they were away from the Temple the urgency was gone from him, the weight of what they were doing finally setting heavy on his mind. The taller Gem’s shoulders slumped, the back pack he had slung over one shoulder slid down his arm to settle in the crook of his elbow. The candy dish clutched loosely in one hand was slipping from Dan’s long fingers, Brian moving to grasp it before it too cluttered to the ground.

_’Have you talked to Arin about this?’_

“Yeah, I told you. I told him everything.”

_’I know that, but did you talk to him afterwards?’_

“I- well- no. He didn’t really give me the chance though, he took off.”

_’So there is a possibility that you’re over reacting?’_

“Of course not! Well I don’t think… Shut up Brian!” Danny snarled snatching the candy dish back off of his silent friend and shoving a handful into his mouth. He was scowling as he chewed, earning nothing but a strange look from his partner in return. Dan hated it when Brian spoke sense, the damn guy barely said anything but when he did he always managed to make the Red Cummingtonite feel small and insignificant. “Where are we?”

_’The battleground. We wont be able to stay here long. Get your angst out so we can move on.’_

“I don’t have angst.” Danny sighed dropping the back pack and falling to the grassed floor in a crumpled heap. A sob escaped his lips and he tried to cover his mouth to stifle the sound. He hated it when Brian was right. The Ninja in question moved to sit beside him, grasping the back pack from the ground and slinging it over his own shoulders ready to move when they needed to. 

_’You fucked up.’_ Brian didn’t offer Dan comfort, they weren’t really like that, they had been partners for thousands of years and they could read each other like a book, but Brian rarely offered comfort. Especially when Danny had done something beyond stupid. There had been a few of those cases back on Homeworld; when he refused to shut up in training and got poofed by their master, when he first voiced his displeasure at eating Gems, when they had both been caught singing and goofing off. Dan’s life had been filled with stupid mistakes, but if it wasn’t for him and the caring heart he held, they wouldn’t be here right now. _’Maybe you should go back. Talk to Arin first.’_

“Are you insane!” Dan snapped, his mouth full and the candy dish empty on the ground at his bare feet. He rubbed the back of his hand across his face, removing any stray tears before trying his best to stare down his partner. “I’ll get bubbled on sight. I’m not going back Bri, if you don’t want to come with me then that’s fine. It’s not like we’re still partners or anything.”

_’Oh laying on the guilt trip now are we? Real mature Daniel.’_

“Wow nice of you to say! Whose the one who avoids emotions and contact at all cost?”

_’Really? You know why so don’t start that up again. You’re afraid of going back aren’t you?’_

“Of course idiot! I don’t want to get bubbled!”

_’No it’s not that, you’ve been trapped before and yeah that sucks and it’s my bad, but that’s not what you’re afraid of. You don’t want to see the disappointment on Arin’s face do you?’_

“Don’t psycho analyse me Brian.” Danny warned, standing up slowly so he could use his height to tower over the smaller Bloodstone.

 _’I knew it!_ Brian stood, the shorter yet more intimidating Gem standing his ground. _’All this could probably be avoided but you’re too much of a pansy to face your boyfriend!’_

“Am not-wait what? Arin’s not-he’s married Bri! What the hell?”

_’I was joking. You really like him don’t you?’_

“He’s my friend, I owe him my life, just like I owe you. That’s it!”

_’Still think you like him._

“Don’t make me hurt you.” 

_’Like you could.’_ Brian raised a brow beneath his mask, a smug expression easily conveyed from his features, he knew Danny would be able to read him even without his telepathic pushing on the other’s mind. What Brian didn’t expect was Dan’s sudden shift in weight, the right hook that connected with his jaw and had him stumbling back a few feet. Shock registered in his system first before pain bloomed soon after, Dan had never really hit him since joining the Crystal Grumps. Brian’s mask was askew, he fixed it briefly before his bright eyes glared at his partner, rage hidden on his features. _’Did you just?_

“Brian! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-“

_’No, you did. Felt good didn’t it? Think I hit a little too close to home with my remark.’_

“Fuck you! I don’t need your bullshit why don’t you go back tell me how well that works out for you.”

_’You couldn’t survive out here without me.’_

“Watch me Bri!” Danny snarled turning his back on his partner of thousands of years and stalking towards the warp pad they came from. He would show him, he could easily do this without Brian, he wasn’t some newly created Gem that had no idea how the world worked. Let Brian return to the Temple, let him get bubbled, it was none of Dan’s business. Huffing the red Gem looked once more over his shoulder, Brian standing there stoic before he flipped him off, Danny warped away, he wasn’t going to deal with this right now.

 _’You’re a fucking idiot Dan.’_ Brian watched him go, he was torn between following after the other ninja, or returning to the Temple and confronting Arin about their conversation. Someone had to be the smart one out of the two of them, sighing and rubbing the bridge of his nose, Brian returned to the warp pad, the light engulfing him. 

When he reopened his eyes he stood in the lounge of the Grump Space, it was still early in the morning, darkness settling over everything in the room. The soft glow of a computer monitor caught his attention, a figure slumped in the chair. He hoped it was Arin, but there was a Grump episode on the computer screen that indicated that it wasn’t the case. He saw Kevin slumped in the chair, headphones on and listening to what ever stupid audio Dan and Arin had cooked up this time. Brian moved to walk past, head to the Temple door and retire, he would have to wait until morning to confront Arin, but considering none of the other Grumps were actively looking and hunting them he decided that Danny had over reacted. A small hand grasped his arm, his yellow eyes looking down at Kevin with curiosity and a hint of annoyance. 

“Where’s Dan?” This Gem was still so young, still so innocent. His question one of concern as he looked between Brian and the warp pad. The ninja deduced that Kevin must of seen them both leave and for only him to return.

“Dan’s gone.” Brian snarled before storming away to the Temple.


	12. Urban Legends Part III

“Arin, stop-please!” Danny turned away from the pink Rhodonite, he couldn’t believe that he had followed him. He was certain he had thrown the rest of the Crystal Grumps off of his scent, he had been warp pad hopping for weeks now, leaving traces of himself in places he had no intention of returning to. He had lost Brian a few weeks ago and he had wanted to go searching for him, to say he was sorry, but there was a part of Danny that was too stubborn, apparently Arin was stubborn as well. 

“Daniel.” Arin couldn’t let his friend go now, he had spent so long looking for the Cummingtonite, they had all been worried about him. Arin hadn’t been able to tell the rest of the Grumps the truth, to let them know what Danny had said on the beach, what he had revealed. Really it wasn’t Arin’s place to tell, that was all Dan’s and by the look of it he wasn’t any closer to returning to the Temple. Dan was wide eyed with fear, the shards still poked through his skin, his mouth filled with vicious canine teeth, he had pulled his katana out in warning, brandishing it in front of him to try and keep Arin at bay. Dan looked beyond fearful, he looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown any moment now, he was shaking, he looked thinner than before, his hair dull and limp, his eyes rimmed with tears. Arin was afraid that maybe it was too late.

“Please. Just leave me alone Arin. You can’t be here. Not now!” Danny was backing up, his katana held in shaky hands, the tip wavering in the air before him. His eyes were wide as he watched Arin close the distance between them. There was no where to go, he had cornered himself in the old ship, locked himself away in one of the smaller rooms hoping to not be found, yet Arin was too smart for that. Danny’s back collided with the cold metal of the ship’s walls, his katana disappearing in his shock, Dan’s long fingers curled into his hair, gripping it tightly and moaning in pain as he slid down the wall, his eyes focused on the floor.

“Dan?” Arin watched as his friend’s fingers curled tighter, clawing at his hair. “Danny, are you ok?”

“I’m fine.” A whispered snarl was returned.

“”That’s bull and you know it. Please, tell me what’s wrong?”

“I’m fine. I’m completely fucking fine.” Dan’s eyes watched Arin approach him, his back was pressed against the ship, his body shaking in fear, his hands held out in the universal signal for stop. “Don’t come any closer!”

“It’s ok dude, I just want to make sure you’re alright.”

“Please-” Arin couldn’t come closer, Dan’s wasn’t sure if he could control himself. He was starving, craving Gems he could crush and consume. The ship room was way to small, the smell coming from the pink Rhodonite overpowering his senses. Sweet and smooth, just like strawberries and it was driving Danny absolutely crazy. He had been suppressing the urges for way too long. The want, the need was no longer a low hum in the back of his mind, it was a scream, a sound that muffled his senses and controlled his instincts. It took everything in Dan not to launch across the small space between them and grasp the Gem, take the Rhodonite in his teeth and - no! He couldn’t think like that. “Stop!” 

Arin froze, still a few feet between them but Dan was shaking, his breaths were ragged and he was muttering between each intake, words the Rhodonite couldn’t make out. Arin’s eyes scanned him, he then realised that he was faced with Dan’s sheer anxiety fuelled terror and it was heartbreaking to see his friend that way. Dan had always been the cool, calm and collected Gem, so what had happened to make him fear them and now Arin so much? Dan had told him everything, and despite his better judgement, Arin wanted to give his friend the benefit of the doubt, wanted to share his story and hear the remainder of the once Homeworld Ninja’s tale.

“It’s ok man. I’ll stay away. Just don’t panic alright? Talk to me.”

“No.” Arin was still too close, Dan could smell him, practically taste him and it disgusted the Red Cummingtonite to know that the thought of biting down was causing his mouth to pool with saliva. He swallowed it down, his throat now dry and constricted, his eyes burned and it was only now that Danny realised he had been crying, tears still streaming down his face silently. “I can’t do this.”

“Do what Daniel? What’s wrong?” Arin had closed that distance, his hand on Dan’s shoulder a shock because the blue projection jumped back with a yelp. A snarl escaped his lips next, baring sharp teeth at Arin like a wounded dog.

“You need to leave!”

“Why can’t you just tell me what’s wrong Dan?”

“Because I don’t want to hurt you!”

“Good fucking luck buddy! That’s never going to happen. I trust you Dan, I told you we’re like family, all of us are and we miss you. I want my friend back, the loveable goof who’s more happy to sing and heal rather then succumb to what Homeworld made him.”

“You’re lying, nobody wants me… I’m a monster.” Danny whispered, tears blurring his vision.

“Why don’t you just admit that you’re happy here with us? That you’re more than the shards and the eating, that I know you can get through this because you’re one of the strongest Gems I know. Telling us the truth scares the shit out of you doesn’t it?”

“No! Shut up!” Dan was pressed against the wall, Arin mere feet from him, his facial expression so sympathetic that it almost made Dan gag, he didn’t deserve his pity, he didn’t deserve his friendship, he didn't deserve his love.

“It scares you that you think you’ll lose control.”

“Go away Arin! Please!”

“It tears you up that you think we’re going to abandon you.”

“Fucking leave me alone!”

“It scares you that you have to tell the truth to all of them.” Arin was mere inches from him now, his pink eyes defiant, Dan more like a trapped animal against the wall, refusing to meet his gaze.

“I don’t want to hurt you. I’m warning you.”

“And you’ll do what?” Arin grasped Danny by the shoulders, grounding the older Gem against the metal wall, his eyes challenging him. “I know you Danny, I know that keeping this a secret has been tearing you up inside. The fear of rejection caused you to run, but you can’t run anymore. I’m not going to let you disappear again.”

“God fucking damn it!” Dan planted his hand firmly on Arin’s chest, with all his might he pushed the Rhodonite away from him, the smell of stale air not tinted with Arin’s scent was relieving. Danny was angry though, like an animal, confined and cornered, rage that he’d never felt before directed completely towards Arin. He lashed out, fist collided with his friend’s jaw, the sickening crunch and the way Arin snapped back with a curse was very satisfying. Dan tried not to give Arin time to recover, he immediately pounced away from the wall, his hands out in an attempt to continue his attack, his teeth bared, sharp and snarling. The pink Rhodonite didn’t let him get far, Arin’s hands moved to capture Dan’s wrists effortlessly, using his larger bulk to push him back again, pin Danny to the wall. The Red Cummingtonite cursed and began to thrash, snarling and swearing as he tried to take more swipes at Arin. His friend had him well restrained, making his attempts seem futile and pathetic. Silence fell between them, Dan’s body going limp besides the rise and fall of his shoulders as whimpering sobs escape between his parted lips.

“Please…” Danny hated himself right now more than anything else he’s done on Earth. “Let me go Arin.”

“I can’t.” Arin pulled Dan towards him, his large hands releasing his wrists but encasing him into a tight embrace, squeezing Dan’s back, rubbing soothing circles as the other Gem proceeded to let himself cry, his soft tears becoming shuddering sobs that caused him to collapse to the floor with Arin. “It’ll be alright Daniel.”

“You can’t know that.” Dan muttered, his head was buried in Arin’s shoulder, the scent of the Rhodonite simply engulfing him now. It would be so easy, he could do it now, satisfy the hunger burning within him. His need was like a drug, the burning desire for one more was constantly pounding in his mind, with Arin so close and Dan mere inches away from losing himself it could be so easy. The Red Cummingtonite took in a shuddering breath, clearing his throat as he simply went limp, he couldn’t fight the urges any more, his tongue running across his lips.

“Yeah but I can hope.” Arin pulled Dan’s limp body closer to him, letting the older Gem sob out his frustrations, he was exhausted, Arin could feel it in his friend’s prone form. The running, the guilt, it had done a number on Danny and he was upset that he hadn’t found his friend sooner. “Homeworld made us all do terrible things Dan.”

There was silence, no hum of machinery, no background game music, no other Grumps idle chatter to fill the room. All that was left was their breathing and Dan’s soft hiccups every few seconds. The smell of Arin was so intoxicating, the Gem mere inches from Danny as Arin ran his hands through the mass of tangled curls. It would be now or never. He opened his mouth, teeth glistening in the light, yet he couldn’t do it, whether it was the lack of energy or the fact that this was Arin, Dan simply couldn’t bring himself to end the pink Rhodonite’s life. Arin was too special to him.

“You’re not the only one with regrets. I’ve done some terrible… experiments on Gems who didn’t deserve my probing. I’ve helped with the creation of many questionable things to help advance the war. I never had anything to do with what you are, didn’t think anything of them but old legends. No, I worked on Fusion-forced Fusion.” Arin felt Dan shift within his hold, he loosened his grip and almost let his own tears that were gathering in his eyes fall at the look in the Red Cummingtonite’s eyes.

“Suzy?” Dan’s voice was hoarse, Arin unaware of his internal struggle.

“Yeah. Well no. Well I mean… I didn’t have anything to do with her specifically, but it’s my research that made it possible.” Arin waited for Dan to say something, anything! He was looking for a reaction but instead he got nothing but tired eyes and a frown, one that had been there the entire time. It was like his friend was wearing a mask and the Rhodonite could no longer read his facial cues. The silence became heavy, almost uncomfortable.

“I guess we’re all monsters.”

“Well, only if we let Homeworld continue to shape us.” Arin hiccuped once, he had never forgiven himself for what had happened to Suzy, but it was something he had been forced to move on from, to bury it behind him and look to the future with joy. Suzy was one of the main Gems in his life that made sure he didn’t mentally beat himself up too much about his research, now it looked like he had to be that Gem for Danny. “Do you want to go home?”

“Do I still have one?”

“Of course you do. We all love you Dan.” Arin squeezed the Red Gem especially hard to emphasis his point. “I haven’t told anyone else if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Why not?”

“It’s not my place dude.”

“That means I have too.”

“Yeah, it does. Although, you should do it when you’re comfortable, don’t force it. I don’t want to lose you again.”

“Arin, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-I mean, I didn’t know what to do.”

“It’s alright bro. I love you.”

“L-love you too.”

“Good. Now let’s go home.”

“I need to meditate.”

“To get rid of the shards?”

“Yeah.” 

“It’s alright. I’ll wait with you.”

"Really?"

"Of course you dolt."

  “Thanks Arin.”

“That’s what family is for.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for Urban Legends. 
> 
> Was going to have a different ending where Dan actually attacked Arin and poofed him, but I couldn't bring myself to actually write it, that and I would have to scrub the whole story from my collection. Crystal Grumps without Arin just wouldn't be the same.


	13. It's Alright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just something cute between Ninja Brian and Dan. A little bit of angst but nothing too sad. Enjoy guys.

This Grump session was going extremely long, not that Gems needed sleep but after so long on Earth they had gone into a routine. To retreat to their rooms and rest at night like most of the humans on this planet. Right now it was three in the morning, Dan was tired, barely making conversation and practically drooling on the couch. Arin was still playing but Danny could tell that he was tired too, he ruffled his friend’s hair with a yawn, hoping to signal that after this session he was going to fucking retire to sleepy time junction.

Another five minutes moved by at a snail’s pace. Arin leant forward, shutting off the recording equipment and signalling that Dan could leave. He wished him a quick goodnight before he left the room and headed for the Temple door. The Red Cummingtonite had never been more happy to see his room and bed in that instant, he trudged past the mirror, glancing at it briefly. It posed a rather useful function, it showed Brian’s room, when his friend would allow it of course, Dan wasn’t a creep. It was times like this, that it came in handy, after seeing his friend’s crouched over form Danny sighed and turned back on his heels to leave and find Ninja Brian.

Dan was no more than two feet out of his own door before pain blossomed in his mind. A hoarse scream escaped him as he collapsed to his knees, hands cradling his face. His mind was burning, his skin swiftly following suit, shards pulsing near the surface, begging for release. The worst was, it was phantom pain, yes Dan’s body ached with a dull thump, but the searing sensation at the back of his mind belonged to one person. The one who he shared the closest bond with, the one who could communicate telepathically with ease, Ninja Brian.

Forcing himself to his feet, his legs weak from the pain, Danny let his hand on the wall steady him as he pressed forward. It felt like hours before he was confronted with Brian’s door. There was no need to knock, he simply let himself in and limped to his partner’s side. With a soft thud, Dan fell to the floor beside the Ninja with enough grace to rival a sack of potatoes. His hand was soft and reassuring on his friend’s shoulder, his eyes gentle, his smile timid. There were shards beginning to burst through his projection, in small clusters that caused pain whenever he moved.

“You too hey bud?” Dan whispered, not wanting to point out that it was Brian’s relapse that caused his own. No, the Ninja had enough to worry about. Brian was littered with crystals, large shards all clumped together scattered along his arm, stomach and chest. It made Dan worry slightly how long Brian had been silent, in pain, just waiting for Danny to be finished with his Grump Session. Beneath the Ninja’s mask there was evidence of pain and fear, Dan could see it in his eyes, the way his nose would crinkle when he moved. Little things that Danny had learnt over time with the Bloodstone. “Wanna meditate with me Bri?”

A shake of his head caused Dan to falter. His brow was raised in question, waiting for the Ninja to go on, some sort of signal, anything! But Brian was silent, looking at himself in the mirror across from him, the one linked with Danny’s room. The Red Cummingtonite realised that Brian had been waiting for him, watching the mirror for his return before asking for help. The Grump Session had run extremely long today and Dan wondered whether Brian had become frustrated with him. Had he been selfish? Spending all that time with Arin? Why hadn’t Brian called out to him sooner? These were probably questions that Danny would never get an answer too. If Brian didn’t want to speak up then there was no forcing the old Bloodstone.

“Do you want me to go?” Danny asked, still watching Brian stare into the mirror, it showed nothing just the emptiness of Dan’s room. He wondered why Brian waited, if he had called out earlier Dan would of made his excuses to Arin, called the Grump session short and come running. One thing Danny was, was loyal. He and Brian had been partners for longer than he could remember, he would do anything for his friend, and to find out Brian couldn’t even ask him for simple favours was a little disconcerting. Brian was still silent, no movement from him at all had Dan heaving out a heavy sigh and shifting to stand.

_‘Stay.’_

“If you want me to.”

_‘Yes.’_

“Alright then Bri, I’ll stay.” Danny settled back down, leaning his shoulder against his partner’s, careful of the shards that jagged from their bodies. Eventually they would have to meditate, find a way to suppress the shards and shape shift them away again, for now though they sat in silence, Danny patiently waiting for Brian to acknowledge him in some other way. Moments like this were rare between the two, normally everything was one sided, coming from Dan of course, but this time, the Red Cummingtonite could feel Brian leaning against him. It brought on memories of back on Homeworld when Dan had first confessed his growing hatred for what they had done. Now they were suffering for what they had been forced to do. 

Dan was completely aware that he had been created to crush and consume their enemies, it was the reason he hadn’t seen Yellow Cummingtonite for who knew how long. His sister had been taken away at the time of their creation, she hadn’t possessed what Homeworld needed, if it hadn’t been for Brian’s brother meeting an untimely demise, Danny probably would of been put out of his existence as well. He wondered briefly if his sister was still alive, but proceeded to banish those thoughts for another time, Brian needed him. The guilt Dan felt wasn’t from knowing what he could do, that was something he couldn’t help, he had no say in how Homeworld would shape him. No, he felt guilt because of these shards, every single Gem he had crushed and eaten, he had enjoyed it and now he knew he shouldn’t have. 

The Red Cummingtonite could feel the slight push of Brian on his mind, the other Gem’s way of comforting him, a soft sigh escaped between his lips. He knew Brian regretted it as well, but still to this day his friend lived much closer to the ninja code then he did, he still refused to talk unless necessary. Not for the first time Dan wondered why, but it was something that his friend dodged whenever he would ask. Brian was a mystery, even to him and he had been his partner for such a long time, in fact Danny would say he would die for the silent Ninja, even if he prodded and made fun of him all the time. 

“Bri, Do you every feel like a monster?” There was an affirmative push on his mind, he thought as much. “Yeah me too. Makes it really hard ya know? I feel like we don’t deserve what we have here.”

“I know I don’t. I don’t even deserve you.” Brian’s voice seemed to create tension in the already heavy air that filled the room.

“What do you mean?”

 _'I was due to be terminated you know? Before you came along.'_ A sigh escaped the ninja, his hand moving to pull his mask off, his yellow hair flattened from the head piece, he ran his fingers through it to ruffle it slightly and stop it from sticking to his skull. “When my brother died, they didn’t see any use for a single Gem, we work in pairs. It was by luck that you were created and your sister was deemed defective. They had no hope for us, thought there was no way we could sync. That’s why I trained you, why I tried so hard. Not because I liked you back then, I was afraid-“

“Of dying. I understand Bri.”

“But you’re the best thing that ever happened to me. You’re stupid and goofy and carefree. I thought this was it, we weren’t going to make it, we were both going to be terminated because you couldn’t play by the rules. In the end though you proved yourself, we became the best, a force to be reckoned with. You awoke something in me that I didn’t realise I had been missing, I always played by the rules, sometimes I still do. But since knowing you, having to deal with your crazy and stupid personality, I’ve realised that you’re my friend, my best friend and I don’t deserve that.”

“Yes you do Brian.” Danny gushed, turning to throw his arms around the other Gem. There were tears in his eyes, a huge smile on his face. He crushed Brian against him in a smothering hug, the other ninja immediately beginning to feel uncomfortable. He tried to push Danny away, his hands scrabbling for purchase as the taller Gem practically crushed him beneath his limp weight. Dan was rubbing his face against the masked ninja’s, soft giggles escaped between his lips. “I thought I would never hear you say that, who knew you were so mushy!”

 _’Dan! Stop.’_ Brian pushed the Red Cummingtonite away forcefully, glaring at his friend and the state they were in. Shards were still littered across their bodies, blood still staining their projections, Danny’s sharp opal like teeth were still visible. _’Maybe you should get off me and we can meditate.’_

“No let me enjoy this whilst I can.” Danny murmured squeezing the Ninja one last time before he gingerly let go, he straightened Brian’s clothes slightly his cheeks flushed in embarrassment. They never had moments like this, in the thousands of years they had been partners Dan could count on one hand how many times Brian had said something this heartfelt. So far the total was at one. “Alright I think I got it all out.”

_’Really? Cause this is starting to get gay.’_

“Oh Brian, I love you.” Dan laughed at Brian’s shocked expression. “What if we were gay? Like super gay?.”

"Shut up." Brian muttered as he shifted his weight, sitting cross legged and trying to calm his breathing in front of the mirror. He nudged Danny, encouraging the other to get into the same position so they could meditate, if he didn’t, Dan would continue to put it off before he was in excruciating pain. Brian wouldn’t allow that. _’Now would you focus.’_

“Yes sir!” Danny grinned nudging Brian back before he settled down beside him, a huge grin on his face as he hummed beneath his breath. Brian recognised the tune and he smiled beneath his mask.

_’We can practise after this if you want.’_

“Yeah! I have a new idea for NSP!" Danny chuckled taking a deep breath to calm himself so he could reveal the title. "I was thinking, 'If We Were Gay.' what do ya think?"

_’You're an idiot. Meditation first.’_

“Buzz kill.”

_’Suck my dick Dan.’_

"I might actually enjoy it, ya know if we were super gay."

_'I hate you.'_


	14. Silence Is Golden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Updates will be slower guys. I've been really busy with work, not to mention being sick and one of my puppies is very unwell. He's going to the vet a lot lately and a lot of my attention and thoughts have been on him. So sorry for things slowing down but Con comes first.
> 
> A little fic of what happens when Kevin is cracked.

Kevin didn’t know how it happened, he hadn’t been doing anything too strenuous from memory, he had been at school enjoying his time with all his human friends when it happened. There had been a deafening sound, a crack that resonated within his very being, now his senses were straining, the silence of the world bearing down on him. It was entirely confusing, it was as if someone had pressed mute on the television screen and he had only just noticed. Kevin opened his mouth to speak, but after realising he couldn’t hear what he was saying anyway he quickly shut it. 

His friends were looking at him in confusion, their mouths moving, their hands gesturing wildly but Kevin couldn’t hear them. He offered them his best reassuring smile, it was hard to stay calm in a situation that he didn’t really understand, but here he was slowly moving towards the bathroom to try and escape the deafening silence around him. It was futile of course but he was able to inspect the small Gem nestled right where his nose should be. At first, Kevin didn’t see anything out of the ordinary which had him panicking slightly. It’s wasn’t until he turned away from the mirror, the light from the window catching the smallest crack, a tiny hairline fracture near the base of his Gem, practically invisible to the naked eye unless one knew where to look.

Kevin leapt away from the mirror, as if he had been burned, his footing tumbled from beneath him and he hit the smooth polished concrete surface with a loud smack, one he didn’t hear but he felt it vibrate through his projection. Scrambling to his feet, Kevin reached down to grabbed his bag as he quickly darted from the bathroom. This had never happened to him before, he didn’t know what to do, he had only seen a cracked Gem once and it had been Arin. Barry had explained it to him of course but he never really understood the situation, how dangerous it was, until now.

Kevin had never realised how much he had taken the ability to hear for granted. The deafening silence that surrounded him was thick, almost suffocating, he could no longer hear his own breathing, just the knowledge of his chest rising and falling with each one. It had been taken from him so abruptly that he didn’t know how to react. Would he never hear Dan sing, or Arin laugh, or Barry calling his name? The thought of living in the silence caused tears to prickle at the young Gem’s eyes. He wasn’t ready for this, God how he wished he had been paying attention when Barry had been explaining it all, he had been too busy watching Ross make fun of them in the background.

What was he suppose to do in this situation? When Arin had been cracked he had fused with Dan to slow the process, but Kevin didn’t have anyone. Even if he did, he still wasn’t able to Fuse yet, he still didn’t grasp the concept of what Fusion was. Everyone kept telling him different things, but what mostly came back was the simple answer that it was an _’experience’_. What did that even mean? Kevin only knew that he had to get back to the Temple, had to get home before he hurt himself more or God forbid one of his friends. He shouldered his bag onto his shoulder, feeling the familiar weight somehow reassuring as he darted from the school’s public bathrooms and past the grounds.

Kevin had never skipped school before, he had always felt an underlying guilt at even the thought of not being able to see his friends, but, it was different now. He only wanted to go home, retreat to the safety of the Temple and get the help from his fellow Gems. He was scared, he had heard countless stories about cracked Gems who had no longer been themselves, about renegades and monsters and Kevin didn’t want to become one of them. He was newly created, young and naive and he wanted to know more, was curious about Gem history and culture, he didn’t want to be destroyed. The fear of the crack spreading, the fear of shattering completely fuelled him onwards across the soft sand of the beach, the heaviness of his back pack causing him to stumble slightly.

The Temple loomed above him, a welcoming site to Kevin’s tired eyes, tears were prickling to fall again but he continued to push himself forwards, up the stairs one at a time. The Temple was quiet, the main area desolate of sound, it was then that Kevin realised that he had no idea what the other Grumps did whilst he was at school. He wished he could hear them, knowing that listening for laughter or shouts was not the way to find his family, he felt stupid that he had tried to rely on that before. Entering further into the home, he slammed the door behind him, whether it was to gather attention or he was frustrated, he didn’t really know. No one came. If the other Grumps were in the Temple then he knew finding them was going to be more difficult.

Dropping his bag by the door, Kevin tried to call out, the feeling was weird, he couldn’t hear himself but he could feel the vibrations in his throat, it immediately caused him to shut his mouth again. The feeling he knew was normal, it happened every other time he spoke, but to not have it drowned out by the actual sounds of words was disconcerting. Kevin swallowed past the lump that had formed in his throat as he pushed open the door to the Grump Space, it was dark and empty, the editing room was much the same. He didn’t know where they could be and fear began to fill his mind. What was he going to do? How did he use the warp? How did he even find the Spring?

Where was Dan? He could heal him, but there was no one here. Kevin sucked in a sob as he collapsed onto the couch in the main area, he pulled his knees closer to him, hugging them close as he let himself cry. The young Gem was so afraid, he had run from school instead of telling someone, he had burst into the Temple expecting help when there was no one here. He didn’t know his way around yet, the Grumps wouldn’t let him wander off alone and every time he had been taken somewhere he had never really paid attention to the twists and turns. His eyes looked over to the warp pad and he so wished he knew how it worked, no one had ever told him and if he knew he could at least take the initiative to head towards the healing spring.

Kevin was unsure how long he sat, curled up on the couch suffocating in the silence around him, he had first kept and eye out for the warp, the Temple door, even the main door of the house, but since neither had moved in a long time he had simply stopped. Normally the young Gem would just keep an ear out, but without even that he had grown fearful and wondered whether sleeping would be a better option until one of the other Grumps came home. If Kevin closed his eyes he could simply imagine that it was night and the silence was because everyone had retired for the evening. 

—-

“Well that was boring.” Danny’s voice filled the room as the warp pad lit up the small home on the cliff side. Beside him Arin and Ross were smirking to each other. The Red Cummingtonite was well ruffled, his curly hair was plastered to his face, dripping with water and his clothes soaked through, his fluffy lined cape looking particularly pathetic.

“You’re just upset that you needed saving-again.” Ross muttered with a wicked smile on his child like features. “That, or you’re annoyed that I got to Fuse with Arin to save you.”

“Shut up.” Dan sneered, a blush crawling onto his cheeks with embarrassment. 

“Why didn’t you tell us you couldn’t swim Dan?” Arin asked wringing water out of his hair.

“I can swim.”

“No you can’t, you sink like a stone.” Ross chuckled, unaware that Dan was ready to tackle him to the ground in frustration.

“Remind me to teach you sometime.” Arin shrugged breaking the tension in the air with his innocent suggestion. The other two Gems seemed shocked at first but then Ross giggled at the mental picture and Dan seemed fearful but nodded in agreement none the less. 

“We can’t be diving in the water to save your arse ever time.”

“I swear, Ross, I will poof you.” Danny warned clenching his fist in what was suppose to be a threatening manner, it would of probably worked too if it wasn’t for his pathetically soaked projection. Ross just laughed before he felt Arin shove him slightly.

“Dude shut up. Kevin’s asleep.” Arin pointed to the couch where the younger Gem was curled up deep into the cushions.

“What’s he doing home from school so early?” Ross asked confused as he stepped closer to the smaller Gems sleeping form.

“I dunno, Barry organises all that. Just leave him alone Ross.” Arin muttered before leading the Aquamarine away, he watched Dan sink into the cushions beside Kevin, cringing at the thought of the wet patch that would be soaked into the material later, damn he wished Dan was more aware of his surroundings.

Kevin stirred at the feeling of the couch dipping from someone else’s weight, he blinked, slowly sitting up and letting his eyes adjust to the brightness of the room. Still a little hazy, he looked to his left, saw Dan sitting there with a wide caring smile on his features. The taller Gem’s hair was beginning to frizz, some parts still damp and plastered to his skin, his clothes were also soaked in places which had Kevin raising his brow in curiosity.

“Hi Kev!” Dan chuckled, about to speak before he realised what the quizzical look meant. “Oh this? Don’t worry, I just sunk to the bottom of the ocean, nothing too serious.”

_’You smell like fish and salt.’_ Kevin wanted to say, but he couldn’t, he didn’t want to feel the vibration, he didn’t want anyone to fuss about him. He had no idea what Dan said, but he couldn’t deny the wet look and the God awful stench that was covering his entire projected body. He wondered where the others were, because there was no way Dan had been out of the Temple without either Brian or Arin with him. 

“What’s the matter little buddy? You’re not your usual self.” Kevin could see Danny’s lips moving and try as he might, he was not exactly good with reading lips. He tried to ask for help, tried to indicate to Dan that there was something wrong, he kept pointing to his Gem which seemed to do nothing but confuse the Red Cummingtonite.

_’Are you normally this thick?’_ Kevin wondered looking frustrated with himself. He could talk, but not even knowing the volume of his voice, or even if his words made sense without hearing them put a damper on that idea rather quickly.

“Arin! Ross! Something’s wrong with Kevin! I swear it wasn’t me!” Danny called out to the others, moving to peer over the edge of the couch as the two Gems came running. Kevin noticed the wet patch on the couch and scooted away slightly. 

Kevin’s teal coloured eyes focused on Arin and Ross, the two of them began conversing with Dan, looking to him every now and then. He felt awkward, it was obvious they were talking about him, but not having the slightest clue what they were saying was frustrating at best. Reaching forward, Kevin grasped at Dan’s wet sleeve, tugging it to get his attention before he gestured to his Gem once more. They looked at him, dumbfounded, confused. 

_’Really? You can’t be this dense the lot of you.’_

_’Of course they can.’_

The reply caught Kevin by surprise, silently yelping as he fell back into the cushions in shock. He didn’t know that voice, had never heard it before in his life, it definitely didn’t belong to any of the Crystal Grumps. It was slightly nasally, filled with sarcasm and amusement. He noticed that the other’s were staring at him, confused by his sudden reaction, it was only then that Kevin noticed the dark shape in the background, hidden amongst the shadows and everything fell into place like finding the remaining piece of the puzzle. 

_’Brian?’_

_’Of course. Who did you think it was?’_

_’How are you-‘_

_’What, reading your thoughts? You’re not exactly keeping them private right now. Besides, this is how I communicate with Dan.’_

_’Please, help me.’_

_’With what?’_

_’My Gem… it’s cracked.’_ Kevin let out a choked sob and watched as Brian approached the silent bickering. He couldn’t really tell what was going on but it looked like Dan was now in a conversation with the Ninja, if the fact that he was the only one still talking had anything to do with it. Suddenly Danny approached him, large hands cradling his chin as he tipped Kevin’s head back a little more forcefully than necessary. His blue eyes studied Kevin, peering into glistening sides of his Gem before a frown etched across his features and he let go.

Kevin blinked in surprise, rubbing the sore spot on his chin from Dan’s rough fingers and he watched the rest of them once more converse quietly. He felt out of the loop, as if they were making plans without him and in a way they were but that didn’t really make him feel any better. Kevin tried to catch Brian’s eyes, wanting to know what was going on and why no one had fixed him yet, it wasn’t that bad was it? He wasn’t going to shatter was he? Fear filled his being and Kevin felt his breaths come in short shallow gasps, his hands flew to his Gem as he tried to keep the tears in.

_’Don’t be upset. They’re just arguing whether they should tell Barry or not.’_

Kevin gasped and looked to the four older Gems, Arin seemed reluctant, Ross had an air about him as if he didn’t care, but the way he kept glancing towards Kevin he knew it was all an act. Dan seemed to be arguing with Brian, which side he was on Kevin had no idea. It struck him as strange that the four of them either feared Barry or didn’t want to worry him with his current condition. It wasn’t for the first time that Kevin began to wonder about their past and why no one was really willing to talk about Homeworld. During his musings they must of come to a decision because the next time Kevin looked up, Dan was crouching in front of the sofa and inspecting him once again. The Red Cummingtonite’s mouth was moving, slow and deliberate, the other Gems gathered around them waiting with baited breath. The room around him was still on mute, the only thing he could hear was Brian’s calming voice before that too began to fade. The silence was suddenly gone, the sweet sound of Dan’s voice reaching his ears and causing Kevin to breath out a laugh. The sound the most beautiful thing he had ever heard.

“Break open the sky, Forcing up a black sunrise. Break open the sky, It’s more than I can leave behind.” Dan’s voice faded only to be replaced by a wide grin.

“Welcome back Kev.” Arin spoke ruffling the younger Gem’s hair slightly.

“So what you can’t speak when you’re cracked? Not that you speak much anyway-ow!” Ross cringed, rubbing the back of his head and glaring defiantly at Brian who simply smirked beneath his mask.

_’Thank you.’_ Kevin smiled at the Ninja, but he received nothing in return, no nod, no smile, not even acknowledgement in those wise yellow eyes. He wondered whether Brian kept to himself mostly, he never said that he would intrude on their thoughts, in fact, Kevin’s pretty sure that he only speaks with Dan because the Homeworld Gems know each other so well. He knows though that no matter whether Brian heard him or not, the Ninja knew he was thankful, so very thankful to hear everyone again.

“Feel better kiddo?” Dan smiles, warm and gentle.

“Yeah. Being deaf was weird. I can’t wait to tell Barry that my Gem cracked. He’s going to be so proud that I was brave.” Kevin watched, a little knowing smirk as Arin, Ross and Dan froze, fear on their features, their eyes wide with worry. Brian’s chuckling is what broke the atmosphere, the first time any of them had heard him make a noise. Which had them raising more questions about what had happened.


	15. Starbomb

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry updates aren't as often. Still got a lot on my plate. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, it was obvious that I was in a rush to finish it.

“Hey, have you guys every done a three way Fusion?” Kevin asked, his eyes innocent as he looked between the Gems before him. Danny was sniggering, elbowing Arin who was also grinning like the Cheshire cat. Brian simply raised a brow and rolled his eyes at the other two Gems. 

“Would you be interested in a three way Dan?”

“Fuck yeah! Not with you though dude. Seriously I love ya man but some things are crossing the line.”

“You wouldn’t let me touch your butt?”

“You stay away from my butt!”

“Guys! Come on I’m serious!” Kevin huffed, crossing his arms and pouting slightly. 

“Well no. None us have done it.” Arin admitted, a frown forming on his face as he thought about what the new Gem had said. None of the Grumps had ever formed more than two Gems at a time, it was never really needed.

“Why not?" The youngest Gem pouted.

“Never needed it... I guess we could try?”

“I dunno Arin, I mean Darin’s pretty stable but-“ Dan quickly looked to Brian and shrugged his shoulders, “Manticore isn’t exactly a treat to be around.”

“Oh could you try, please?” Kevin begged, his teal coloured eyes pleading with them.

“Do you wanna? Brian?” Dan asked, the Ninja staring at him blankly for a few moments before there was a very slight nod which had the Cummingtonite Gem shrugging his shoulders. “Guess that settles it, although, we should probably attempt this outside.”

“Good idea, come on Kev.” Arin grasped the younger Gem by the wrist and led him out the front door, down to the beach in front of the Grump Space, he heard Dan and Brian’s soft footsteps following them. Booted feet sunk into the sand, Arin letting go of Kevin’s hand and instructing him to sit on a rock off to the side, after the younger Gem was comfortable, he approached Dan and held out his hand. 

“Oh so Darins the lead then I guess. You alright with this Bri?” The Ninja simply stared, the two of them sharing an unheard conversation. Arin would love to know how that worked, he knew Ninja Brian could talk, he had heard him whispering to Danny on several occasions, but whatever they spoke about was never repeated. He had asked the Red Cummingtonite once about it, Dan had simply laughed it off and said they had known each other for years and that was just what Brian was like, that was no explanation.

“Yeah of course dude, you said it yourself Manticore is too umm- unpredictable.” Arin wiggled his fingers as if tempting Dan closer.

“Sorry Bri, but he’s right.” Danny placed his hand into Arin’s letting the younger Gem lead him into a carefree and goofy dance. The two of them had done this hundreds of times, for battle, for fun, they had fused more times than Suzy and Arin had. Darin was a staple in the Crystal Grump temple at this point, much to the annoyance of Suzy, Dan understood she just wanted to see her husband sometimes. They couldn’t help it, in fact the arrival of Brian was probably for the best, Dan could split his time between his best friends and drop the chances of an accidental fusion in half. 

Arin pulled him close, a chuckle escaping the two of them as their Gems floated within the pure light before they merged into the single being, the purple of the Iolite taking over their body as they landed, bare feet sinking into the sand, large grin on their face as Darin cheered to finally be back.

“Whoo bout time I met you Kev! Look how gosh damn cute you are!” Darin swept the younger Gem into a tight embrace, twirling him around before plopping him back down onto the rock, Kevin giggling with surprise. “Brian! Your turn buddy!” 

The Ninja frowned beneath his mask, raising a brow at Darin, wishing he could just tune into Danny’s consciousness and communicate with him, but Darin was such a confusing mixture. Playful, anger, calm, relaxed, humorous; it was all a little too much for Brian to take in. He backed out of his probing immediately, his yellow eyes studying the Fusion before him with uncertainty. He watched ever silent, before taking the offered purple hand. Darin immediately swung him into moving, their four arms, leading Brian in a dance all too familiar, one that Danny would obviously be responsible for. He tried to relax, tried to trust the Fusion before him, eventually, Brian noticed a certain look, one he knew from Dan from all their years together, with that he finally let go.

Brian was pulled towards Darin, the Fusion not being as forceful as he once thought, they pulled the ninja close before bright light once more erupted between them. This was their first Fusion like this, their Gems settled chaotically into place as if they were unsure. They're surface flashed black before lightning like coloured flashed across the smooth gems, Black Opal their new designation, the gems compressed and dark, flecks of pink, blue. The Fusion had six arms, all toned a dark colour flecked with opal shards, each one either had a fingerless glove or a sash around the wrist. Their attire was black, framed with the colours known to each individual, every cuff and outline. Their face half covered by a mask, three eyes blinking and confused for a moment. One was pink, the other yellow, the third, situated between the brows belonged to Dan. Their hair was almost wild yet with a slight curl, once again adorned with those three colours, one strip each framing their face. The Fusion pulled down the mask and Kevin saw what was obviously two mouths, one filled with fangs, the other smooth and smiling, it’s voice though was just Arin and Dan, speaking out of a mouth each, able to voice each other’s thoughts separately which sounded more smooth and melodic than one might of thought.

“Oh my! You guys look amazing!” 

“Aren’t we?” Arin’s voice smirked, surprisingly enough he was voiced from the more normal looking mouth. The Fusion bent down, each one of Dan’s hands moving to cradle Kevin and lifted him up to their eye level.

“You’re so small Kevin, I could crush you so easily.” Danny spoke in a sing song, his and Arin’s voice merging into a melodious yet somehow vicious laughter.

“Ummm please don’t... What can I call you?” Kevin looked down, he was a fair way from the beach now and he was dangerously close to that smiling fang filled mouth.

“What to call me. That’s a good question little one.” Their voice was mashed, before silence fell, as if they were listening to the third member of their Fusion, something Kevin couldn’t even understand. “Starbomb.”

“Neat.” Kevin was a little taken back, he didn’t think that Starbomb was going to be this big, nor did he think he was going to be this terrifying. With Arin and Danny’s personalities he thought that maybe he would be fun to be around, and not really knowing what Brian was like, except stoic and emotionless, Kev thought that the other two would win out. Starbomb was down right terrifying, those eyes, the laugh, the fang filled smiles, it put the younger Gem on edge, as if the Fusion could easily talk him into doing something stupid. 

“Hey Kev, wanna see something cool?”

“Is it safe?” Kevin had to brace himself as Starbomb burst into that vicious sounding laughter, he grasped onto one of their fingers so he wouldn’t go toppling towards the beach and probably shatter his gem.

“Oh buddy of course it is! Don’t you trust me?”

“Well, I never said that.”

“Great!” Starbomb smirked, the action still making Kevin nervous, that vicious mouth that sounded like Dan was scaring him, such a beautiful carefree voice coming from between the fangs was making him question Starbomb’s stability. Darin was such a chilled Gem, happy and carefree, but since they entered Ninja Brian into the mix something had gone horribly wrong. Obviously the two of them weren’t strong enough, weren’t able to suppress the Ninja’s rage, yet Brian didn’t have a mouth and his hands weren’t the ones swinging him around dangerously, they were Dan’s. Gripping tighter to one of Starbomb’s fingers as the Fusion moved along the beach had Kevin beginning to feel a little motion sickness. “Check this out Kev!” 

Arin and Brian’s hands came together, cupping one another near their belly Gem, summoning a weapon that looked a lot more dangerous than the three of them had separately. It was a bomb, and not just a little bomb but a huge one. It looked like something out of an old Mario game, a bright yellow star on it’s form and a deep dark shiny surface. Kevin watched in amazement as the Fusion clicked his fingers, igniting the bomb and tossing it into the ocean. He had no idea whether they timed the throw just right or they could control the fuse, the bomb had exploded just before impact with the water, sending up a powerful blast that caused little droplets of sea water to rain on them. The ground shook from the impact, causing Kevin to lose his balance and land softly in Starbomb’s palm.

“What the hell is going on?” Holly’s voice echoed over the beach, catching their attention. Starbomb mock gasped, Dan’s hands flying to their face, whilst Brian’s caught Kevin before he could fall any further, the younger Gem’s scream being silenced as he was placed onto the soft sand.

“Commander Holly. My my you look angry. Why? Nothing’s wrong. We were just entertaining little Kev here.”

“You guys need to unfuse immediately!”

“What! No way! This Fusion is perfect, I haven’t felt like this in oh-so-long.”

“This is not a Fusion you have tested, this is not a game! Unfuse now!” Holly snarled her wings flaring with a glow of her gem, Starbomb immediately reaching down with all six arms to grasp her, there was a struggle, Kevin using this time to hide behind the rock he was sitting on earlier only to witness Holly being clutched between two hands.

“Holly!”

“Oh no, looks like we’ve got you now Commander.” Danny’s voice sang tinted with feral laughter, Arin’s voice chuckling and sniggering as well. “What are you gonna do about it little bird?”

Kevin never saw what happened, he witnessed Holly snarl, saw her move something in her hand and suddenly a bright white light filled the beach, the three Gems from earlier landing with harsh thuds in the sand. They at least looked guilty about their actions, well Dan and Arin did, Brian was still hidden behind his mask. The young Gem finally came out of hiding, running over to Holly and asking if she was alright, the pink Gem taking his hand with a frown.

“I’m fine honey. Don’t ever let me see you three Fusing again unless we are in need of it. You could of hurt yourselves, you could of put Kevin in danger!”

“Sorry Holly.” Arin muttered, Dan and Brian echoing the sentiment. The pink Rhodonite running a hand through his hair, watching as the old Commander lead Kev back to the temple. Man was he going to hear about this later with Suzy. He turned to Brian and Danny, watching the two of them converse quietly.

“Yeah I know, I kinda liked it though.” Danny spoke, eyes focused on Brian.

“That didn’t scare you even a little Dan?” Arin asked suddenly a little worried about the two ninja Gems that sat in the sand beside him.

“No. Fusing with Brian is always like that for me. Did it freak you out big cat?”

“A little, I guess.” Arin muttered looking away, the blush on his cheek from embarrassment. 

_’What a pussy.’_

“Brian.” 

“I’m not a pussy!” Arin muttered in response, he looked up to see both Ninjas staring at him as if he had grown a second head, oh god he hadn't had he?

“You heard him?” Danny asked a little confused.

“Yeah?” Arin looked at Brian, the masked Ninja’s face could only be described as annoyance, he stood shrugging his shoulders and stalking back up the beach towards the Temple. They sat in silence, the both of them watching Brian go. “I know he’s your partner Dan but, that Fusion was a little creepy, quite unstable too.”

“I don’t think Brian is the sole one responsible for that Arin.” Danny smiled sadly, he stood leaning over to ruffle the Pink Rhodonite’s hair, before he too followed the Bloodstone’s footsteps back up to the Temple. Arin watched them go, musing over the taller Gem’s words, yet he didn’t understand it. Darin was a great Fusion, calm, playful, caring, but as soon as Brian was added to the mix the balance was tipped. He had only heard stories about the Manticore but now he was curious whether it was as unstable as Dan said.

“Dan wait up!”


	16. Shards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another Dan, Brian and Arin focused chapter, I promise I'm going to include more Gems late but for now I find these the easiest to write and the easiest to finish.

The corrupted Gem reared up on it’s hind legs, dangerous claws snapping and slashing at it’s attackers, it was hard to describe the creature, it was like a big cat, the front of it more insect like. It had taken the entire Crystal Grumps to engage, Barry, Ross and Danny on defence, Suzy and Arin on the attack whilst Brian and Holly supplied distractions, putting themselves in harms way for the others to get a clear shot. Their plan was working, enraging the Corruption enough for the others to get a clear shot of it’s Gem. They worked together, as if all of them had been fighting side by side for thousands of years. 

Dan wasn’t one to fight, he had tried so hard to give up the life he once lead, he was so afraid that if he caught the corrupted Gem, if he managed to get it in his hands, that he would crush it and eat it rather than bubble it back to the Temple. It was something that held him back, made him be more defensive in combat. He had been asked about it before, he had a sword as a weapon, shouldn't he of been participating more in the fray? It’s not as if Danny didn’t protect the other Grumps with all his heart, he did, he loved each and every one of them, he was willing to save them at any chance, but to directly attack was unheard of. 

When Arin shouted at him, told him about the opening that he immediately identified and took, Dan realised there was more to fear than reverting to his cannibalistic ways. The claw sunk into his projection, slicing through his clothes and into his chest, blood bubbling forth from the wound. Shock registered on his features, pain bloomed soon after, followed swiftly by fear as his body disappeared in a puff of smoke and his Gem tumbled towards the ground.

“Dan!” Arin dropped his position, moving to catch the falling Red Cummingtonite before it could meet it’s end on the hard earth. He had barely moved a few inches before a black clad blur dashed forwards, Brian. He had snatched Danny’s Gem from the air, stuffed it somewhere in his garb to keep it safe before he resumed fighting. They managed to destroy the corrupted Gem, Ross and Arin fusing to finish it off and bubble it back to the Temple. They were all exhausted, all worried for their friend’s safety.

“Is he alright?” Suzy rushed to the Ninja’s side.

“Brian, is he going to be ok?” Arin asked, linking his arm with his wife’s for support.

“How long does he take to reform?” Ross, ever the asshole.

Brian didn’t answer any of them, although they probably expected that, he simply deteriorated his ninja stars, fetched Danny’s Gem from where it was hidden and held it close to his chest. His piercing yellow eyes studied each and every Grump before him, almost snarling at them as he turned on his feet, flipped them off and stormed back to the warp pad with the intention of retreating to his room.

“Man, do you think Dan’s never been hurt in combat before?” Arin asked, there was tension in the air, thick and heavy, making them all feel guilty that Dan had been the one to be poofed. It had happened to Arin before, he had been reckless many years ago, yet he was quick to reform. Suzy took a bit longer, he didn’t know if that was by choice or because of the Gems she was made from. Holly took weeks, she liked to take her time, make sure she was perfect each time. Ross and Barry had never experienced it, Barry because he wasn’t reckless, he knew strategy inside and out, Ross because well, the young Australian Gem had only been with them for a few years.

“By the way Brian was acting, I don’t think so.” Suzy frowned, concern for her friend as she began to lead the other Grumps back up to the house.

“I don’t get it, what’s the big deal?” Ross snarked.

“Well, retreating back into your Gem is a way to heal yourself, it’s a way to take your time and rethink what you want to come back like. Being poofed is different, I mean I guess it’s like being seriously injured and having to recover. Some Gems don’t take it well.” Barry explained as he trudged up after the others.

“I wonder how long he’ll take? I mean the last time he wanted to retreat it was by choice but then he was sealed away.” Arin shrugged as he opened the door to their home for everyone else, the first thing he noticed was no sign of Brian, not unusual, but normally the Ninja didn’t have a hold of his best friend either.

“I guess we just have to be patient Arin.” Holly smiled, placing her hand on his shoulder reassuringly before she ushered Ross with her into the depths of the Temple, explaining that they might as well maintain the Spring if Dan was going to be out of action.

Dan was out of action, it had been over two weeks since he had been injured and had forcefully retreated back into his Gem, Arin hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Brian either. He understood they were partners and friends, and they shared a past that no one else was privy too, but Arin was missing his best friend. He had tried approaching the Ninja on several occasions, but Brian would simply stare and then shut him out. Arin wouldn’t say he’d been sulking, but every single one of the Grumps totally knew he was, they had roused on him at first but since then he hadn’t really been himself.

“Honey, maybe you should go talk to Brian again.” Suzy wrapped her arms around his shoulders, leaning her head against his shoulder and kissing the side of his neck. “It’s been a long time.”

“I guess.”

“Don’t worry, you just have to be patient, Danny might just like to take his time. Try and keep busy in the meantime okay?”

“Of course Suze.” Arin kissed his wife, returning her embrace before standing and heading into the Temple to once again try and talk with Brian, if he just saw Danny’s Gem maybe he’d feel better. He stood before the mysterious Ninja’s door, knocking twice and calling out, it opened, Brian cocking his head, his yellow eyes studying Arin silently. It was nothing new that Brian crept all the Gems out a little bit, they knew that both he and Dan had been Ninjas back on Homeworld, but where Danny was go lucky, relaxed and carefree; well, Brian still looked the part.

“Hey Bri.” Arin avoided the Ninja’s gaze, running a hand through his hair to calm his nerves, the room beyond Brian’s shoulder was dark, so much so that Arin couldn’t even make out any contents at all. “How’s Dan doing?”

The pink Rhodonite was met with complete silence, nothing but that penetrating gaze from Brian to keep him company, he noticed a slight shift in the Ninja’s movements and realised that it was a shrug. So he still had Danny’s Gem, hidden somewhere in that dark room beyond his small frame in the doorway. Arin felt guilty, as if it was his fault, he had been the one to call out the opening, he had urged Dan into battle and his friend had gotten hurt in the outcome. Now they were without his healing voice, reliant on the old spring, and Arin was without his best friend.

“Hey any chance I could see him, ya know I just want to make sure he’s ok.” Arin noticed Brian moved to fill the doorway, immediately he prickled, annoyed that Brian was pretty much keeping Dan to himself, it was so frustrating. “Oh come on! Why not?”

_‘You don’t deserve to.’_

“What the fuck? Why not?”

_‘Because, Dan doesn’t trust you yet.’_

“Fuck off Brian yeah he does.” Arin snarled, he was suppressing every urge to punch the smug Ninja right in his face. At least on the positive Brian was actually talking to him.

_‘No he doesn’t, not yet. Although, I suppose it’s only a matter of time. Be patient.’_

“Why has everyone been telling me to be patient? Come on man, let me in!” Arin tried to side step the smaller Gem, in hindsight it wasn’t the best idea, Brian had knocked him onto his arse with a simple push to his chest. Man the little guy could hit when he wanted too. Arin fumed, looking up at Brian from his position on the floor.

_‘Be patient.’_ Brian slammed his door in Arin’s face once more, letting the silence of the Temple over come him. Slowly standing the pink Rhodonite brushed himself off, his chest fucking hurt, but there was no way he was going to let Brian know that, the jerk. Snarling slightly he turned away from the Temple, heading back to the Grump space defeated. Suzy was there, she immediately recognised his mood and moved to his side for comfort. Arin wasn’t exactly the same, he acted joyful, he laughed with the others but Suzy could see that the emotions weren’t really behind his eyes.

Another two weeks passed, things were tense in the Grump Space, most didn’t know how to act around Arin, he seemed depressed most of the time and ready to fly off the handle the others. Everyone agreed that Arin was in fact missing Danny even if the pink Gem denied it until he was red in the face. To say things had been easy recently would of been a lie. Arin sat, controller thrown aside in rage, his art book on his lap, sketches and scribbles filled the page. Some were crossed out, probably in annoyance or frustration, others were of the Crystal Grumps, Dan, Suzy, Ross, Barry, Holly and even himself. The TV bounced around on it’s screen saver, illuminating the almost dark room, casting a blue glow on everything around. The door opened behind Arin, though he wasn’t paying attention, his mind focused on what was coming from the tip of his pencil.

“Hey dude, is that us? Looks great.”

“Dan?” Arin dropped his sketch book, it landed face down on the floor as he stood, turned to see the Red Cummingtonite leaning on the back of the couch and grinning like a cheshire cat. “Oh my God! You’re ok!”

Dan gasped as Arin vaulted the couch, crashing into him and knocking him backwards, the taller Gem hit his head against the floor before having the wind knocked out of him by Arin’s form landing on top of him. He groaned in discomfort before he realised Arin was hugging him. Chuckling slightly, although it was more like a wheeze, Danny ruffled the pink Gem’s hair affectionately. 

“Alright dude time to get off me now.” Danny sat up as Arin crawled off him, moving to sit back on his arse beside the taller Gem, a broad grin on his features. Danny blushed slightly a little nervous wondering what Arin was looking at him for. “You ok?”

“I’m great! Just great Daniel! Love the new look!”

“Huh? Oh yeah… thought it was time for a change.” Danny grinned his eyes looking down at himself. He was clad in bright blue spandex, a star pattern cut out of the material to show off his Red Cummingtonite Gem, a fluffy cape hung limply from his shoulders, sprawled out behind him.

“Is this what took you so long?”

“Yeah. Sorry I couldn’t decide.” Danny couldn’t tell him the truth, not yet, that he had been back for over a week now, he had even seen Brian push Arin away. It broke his heart to lie, but with the regeneration and the Gem shards that had taken over him, Danny had needed time, he had meditated with Brian, practising to once again shape shift the impurities away, the teeth, the shards and suppress that vicious nature within himself. He was glad Brian had nabbed his Gem out of the air, if the other Grumps had seen it’s marred base he didn’t know what he could of said, if they even still wanted him around. “Did you miss me?”

“Yes! Of course I did! Your my best friend man!”

“Dude you're my best fried too!” Danny laughed, reaching forward to ruffle Arin’s hair only to have his hand batted away with a laugh, the two of them sat on the floor of the Grump Space, Danny catching up on what he had missed over the last four weeks. He knew one day he would have to tell Arin, tell all of them what he and Brian had done in their past. For now, he was willing to just enjoy his friends company.

Arin was happy to have his best friend back, but he could’t shake the encounter he had with Brian from his mind, did Dan not trust him? He looked to the Blue Projection, his smiling face, his carefree attitude. What was he hiding?


	17. I Want to Leave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny and Brian in this one. 
> 
> Just a few theories and I would of liked to of expanded on this but after mulling over it for days I just couldn't.
> 
> Also I had plenty of other chapters planned, up to chapter 30, but I'm going to finish this at chapter 20. 
> 
> I just don't have the passion behind the Crystal Grumps anymore. May look at some Overwatch stuff instead.

“Test them.”

“But Sir they just emerged.”

“I said test them, or do you want to see what the other’s are capable of?”

“No sir, right away sir.”

“Good.”

Two gems, sat side by side, their thighs touching, almost identical in looks. They seemed scared, confused, new to this world. Their hair was a mass of curls, their bodies both long and lanky, one was identified as Red Cummingtonite, the other a Yellow. They both wore identical clothes, they were both created for the exact same purpose and now they waited to find out what that was. They chatted quietly amongst themselves, trying to get to know one another in their short existence. A bond between the two Gems, caused them to have a familiarity others didn’t posses, they were twins to an extent.

Research Gems bustled around them, checking their state every few minutes but other than those times they were left ignored. Conversations about a destroyed Gem met their ears, the partner had gone into an uncontrollable rage, apparently it was enough to draw most of the other researchers and Guards away. The two Cummingtonite Gems became restless in the large facility, they were confined to a table, the cool metal uncomfortable beneath them. They were Kindergarden Gems in a way, created for a purpose, for war, yet somehow they were different to other soldiers. Neither of them had the stature of a warrior, both of them tall and thin, nothing to their projections. They weren’t strong, they weren’t built for fighting but somehow they were here. 

“How are you two doing?” A researcher approached them as they noticed a lot of the others had been cleared from the room, both nodded in unison which had the researcher smiling, jotting down a few notes they probably wouldn’t understand. “That’s good. I’m Shungite, I’ll be conducting your preliminary exam today, for this process I’m going to refer to you as Red and you as Yellow. Understand?”

They nodded. 

“Fantastic.” Shungite asked them both to stand with their arms out, she inspected their forms from top to bottom before they were allowed to relax once more on the cool table. The entire time, the black Gem jotted notes and muttered underneath her breath. “Alright, Red you first then followed by Yellow please, can you both summon your weapon for me?” 

Red Cummingtonite nodded, the Gem glowed softly on his belly before he reached down and pulled a beautiful red bladed katana from the Gem. Yellow was next, she took a deep breath, before she too summoned her weapon, a broad sword, wide and thick and blazing like the sun. They both held out the weapons for inspection, the Shungite taking notes and measurements, once done the twins dispersed the swords.

“Now to get up close and personal.” Shungite approached Red, instructing the Gem to sit. “Open wide buddy.”

Sharp rows of opal teeth glistened in the Red Cummingtonite’s mouth, they were as deadly as canines, their texture rippling with colours, they seemed to be in fantastic shape before the researcher smiled. She offered Red a small shard, a little blue gem fracture and instructed him to eat it, not knowing the taboo the Cummingtonite immediately obeyed, asking for another as soon as he was finished.

“All in due time Red. Yellow, your turn.” Shungite was met with smooth teeth, but that wasn’t really a good indication, not all cannibals had sharpened teeth to tear with. Offering another piece of the blue gem shard to the twin, she watched as Yellow could not crack or even swallow the shard, coughing and gagging with tears in her eyes. “That’s a pity.”

“What is?” Red spoke up, voice smooth and melodic.

“Nothing to worry about you two.” Shungite immediately stood, leaving the room and the two Cummingtonites alone, she continued to observe them through the two way mirror, her partner looking at her expectantly. “Man another failure.”

“What again? Man Diamond’s not going to be happy.”

“You think I don’t know that Labrador? First that shattered Bloodstone and now this defective Cummingtonite. I don’t know what we’re going to do with him though, he has all the traits we need.”

“Well, pair him up with the psycho, no use losing four ninjas when we might be able to get away with only two.”

“Should we repurpose the yellow one?”

“No harm, we could always use more Grunts in the army.”

“Alright I’ll go separate them.” The Shungite shrugged placing down her notes before she headed back to the research room. The two Gems were chatting amongst themselves yet once they noticed her, silence filled the sterile room and their eyes were focused on her, it was a little unsettling. “So you two, you’ve been assigned. Red, you’ll be placed in the Ninja program whilst Yellow will become a squire of sorts.”

“Wait, we’re not going to be together?”

“Don’t be ridiculous Red, who gave you that idea?”

“We’re partners.” 

“No, you’re Gems that just happened to be created at the same time. Don’t look into it too much.” The Shungite signalled for the guards to come and take them away, reassign them properly so she could continue with her own work.

“You can’t do this!”

“Listen Red, I’m just doing my job, as you both will be doing soon. I don’t make the rules.” A Guard Gem grasped Yellow under her arm and yanked her to her feet. Red immediately sprang up, reaching for his sister and having to be restrained. “Take them away.”

“No you can’t do this! Yellow!” The Red Cummingtonite began to thrash in the Guards hold, his attempts were futile, his thinner frame being no match for the burley Guard Gem.

“Red!” His sister was removed from the room, her cries being shut off by the closing door. Tears immediately sprang fourth from her brother’s eyes, causing the Shungite to cringe.

“Man he better toughen up or I’m fucked. He’s not going to make it as a ninja at this rate.”

—

“Hey Blood, enjoy your new play thing.” The guard chuckled before he released the Red Cummingtonite, the door slamming behind the Guard’s retreating back leaving the newly created Gem alone with Blood. The room was dark, the presence in the back had yet to move or acknowledge his arrival, small shards glowing on the other figure’s body. Red was scared, small tears running down his face that he wiped away, the figure in the room was silent, eyes closed and dressed in black. The Gems from his body were sickening to look at, they glowed softly in the darkness, their bases caked with blood.

“Oh God.” Red turned to the door, he tried to pry it open, tried to knock and scream but nobody came. He collapsed against the wall, his back sliding down until he met the cold floor beneath him, tear filled blue eyes watching the Ninja across from him. It hadn’t moved. Red grumbled in frustration, hands clutched in his short curls and tugging, trying to kick his brain into gear to think of something, anything that could get him out of here.

_’Will you shut up. Your thoughts are so loud.’_

“Oh. You can hear me?”

_’Yes.’_

“Isn’t that an invasion of my privacy?” The piercing look Red received caused him to look away, feeling embarrassed that he had said anything to begin with. “So uh- are you going to destroy me?”

_’No.’_

“That’s good.”

_’Doesn’t mean the Authority won’t.’_

“Oh.” Red sat in silence, he studied the Gem across from him, a Bloodstone littered with shards, he was quiet, mysterious, a little unnerving if he was going to be honest. Especially since the Bloodstone’s piercing eyes hadn’t left him. “Are you going to just stare at me?”

There was no response. After a few minutes Red got bored, he began to scour the room looking for any sort of weakness, after walking the perimeter twice he immediately sat back down defeated. He was closer to the other Gem now, he watched in silence as the shards slowly began to disappear, it was then he noticed something. There was a severe crack in the Bloodstone’s Gem, it ran over the smooth surface causing a fissure, the other Gem didn’t seem too phased by the injury. 

“I’ve been trying to speak to you for five minutes. Stupid crack.”

“Wait you can talk?” 

“I prefer not too. I take it you’re my new partner?”

“I guess? I had Yellow but they took her away from me.”

“My Brother died today.”

“Shit man, I’m sorry.”

“Whatever.” The Bloodstone fell into silence then, dismissing Red’s presence entirely. There was so much that had happened and Red barely understood any of it. He hand’t even been created for more than twenty four hours and he had already been separated from his sister and thrown into a room with a Gem he was positive could kill him without any remorse. Red could feel the sadness welling inside of his being, he pushed it away, he couldn’t spend the rest of his life a blubbering mess due to things he couldn’t control.

“You never know if you could doubt it.  
I can’t believe they’re gone.  
You don’t even know what side you’re on.  
Don’t want to joke or talk about it.  
Now it’s been far too long.  
You don’t even know what side you’re on.”

Blood looked up at the other Gem’s soft singing. His voice was smooth, filled with sorrow and he had his back to the old Ninja. The room echoed with the words, ones that hit a little too close to home for Blood. He was trying to meditate and this stupid fucking Gem was ruining the peace and quiet. Blood stopped, his breath catching in his throat, his hands moving down to the Gem on his chest, a soft glow emitting from it. He watched, shocked, the fissure began to mend, slowly knitting itself back together, fusing the cracked pieces as one.

“The night is growing overcrowded.  
You’re out to prove me wrong.  
You don’t even know what side you’re on.  
Took all my life to run around it.  
And now it’s so far gone.  
You don’t even know what side you’re-.”

_’Stop!’_ Blood closed the distance between them, his hands grasping the Red Cummingtonite’s shoulders as he shook him. _’You’re a Healer?’_

“What?” Red gasped trying to pull away but the Ninja’s hands clutched to him tightly.

_’A Healer.’_ The old Bloodstone indicated to his Gem, it was perfect, good as new, no signs of the fissure or any fractures in it’s smooth surface. _’This changes everything.’_

“It does?” 

_’Yeah, you might actually be useful.’_ The Bloodstone smirked beneath his mask, his yellow piercing eyes darting between the thinner Gem’s face and his healed stone. This was a catch twenty two scenario; on one hand, Red was a healer, a being that was seen to hold great power amongst Homeworld. The Authority must not know, otherwise he doubted the Cummingtonite would of been assigned as a Ninja, that though brought a problem. _’You must not tell anyone else about this.’_

“Why not?” 

_’Because you idiot. If other Gems found out, if the Authority knew, you would be used. Carted around to every war, placed behind the front lines and forced to sing until your voice ran dry, until your throat was bloody and raw. Do you want that?’_

“No… I want to help but, I want the choice.”

_’Then you’ve got the wrong ability and placed in the wrong career.’_ The Bloodstone finally let the Red Gem go, creating distance quickly between them. So this was going to be his partner, not the best specimen but it was something Blood could probably work with. Especially now that he knew his power, if the Diamonds ever found out that this newly created Cummingtonite was a healer than Blood could kiss his life goodbye, there was no way they would pair him again. Red was his last chance, keeping this a secret was imperative to the Bloodstone’s survival.

“I didn’t choose any of this. I don’t want to fight.” Red looked down at his hands, his thin long fingers curling into loose fists. He hadn’t been created for a day yet and already his fate had been decided for him. The abilities he had been created with were still unknown to him, the task he had been assigned with just seemed to not sit well within his chest, the Bloodstone was not his partner, that designation belonged to his sister. “I don’t know if I want this.”

_’Do you want the Gems?’_

“What?”

_’The shards? You’ve obviously tasted them, you still have some Sapphire in your teeth.’_ Blood grinned gesturing to his own mouth as emphasis.

“Oh.” Red ran his tongue over his opal teeth, tasting the remains of the shard. The rush hit his body instantly, coursing through his veins, his pupils blown wide as a smile spread over his features. “Yeah. I want more.”

_’Good, so you’re not a complete waste. I can get you more shards, you just have to be patient, and do what I say.’_ Blood frowned beneath his mask, this new Gem was going to become a trial in his life, he never asked for this but when the other option was destruction Blood was willing to take what he could. Red was a weak, pathetic creature, a mismatched Gem, designed to destroy and heal, it made no sense to him. He was willing to work with what he had been given though and offering gem shards seemed to be the best way to get the Cummingtonite to obey.

“We’re doing the right thing, right?”

_’Of course. We’re doing the work of Homeworld, of Yellow Diamond. I’ll look after you, don’t worry.’_


	18. Not So Grump

They had been recording the Grump session for about four hours now, Danny was beginning to tire and there was a nagging irritation at his brain, every little thing that he use to let slide past was annoying him now to no end. He watched the screen, tried to focus on what Arin was doing, not the soft humming of the capture devices, not the tapping of Arin’s fingers on the controller. Dan was tired, not in the literal sense, he didn’t need to sleep, no Gem did. He was feeling run down though, as if he needed to recharge and meditate, heaven forbid the shards begin to protrude all because he lost his focus.

“Arin! I’m tired.” 

“I know dude, after this episode we’ll call it. Now pay attention, we have to entertain!”

“What so the lovelies can hear me yawn and you rage? What entertainment that is.” Danny drawled sleepily, he went limp on the lounge falling to the side, his shoulder bumping into Arin’s. He snuggled down to make himself comfortable, giggling the entire time as Arin tried to shove him off.

“Man for a lanky bastard you sure are heavy.”

“Arin… Don’t make fun of me.”

“Sorry. Man you can be such a baby sometimes Jon.”

Danny froze, his blue eyes shifting to watch the pink Gem out of the corner of his vision, he’s sure Arin had no idea what he had just said. Frowning, Dan slowly moved away, creating distance between them, he felt awake now, more than ever as he studied his friend from his peripheral. Arin was focused on the game, his chattering away and Dan’s lack of responses probably put down to how tired Dan had said he was earlier and not the slip up that just occurred. The Red Cummingtonite was shifting anxiously in his seat, he didn’t know what to do. Does he bring it up, forget it happened? Arin was wrapping up the episode, hitting stop and writing down their times.

“Hey dude you up for another-Hey are you alright?”

“You called me Jon.” Danny couldn’t lie, when he saw the genuine concern in Arin’s eyes he knew he couldn’t blow it off as nothing, there was no way the pink Gem would buy it.

“I-uh-I did?”

“Yeah.”

“Jeeze man I’m sorry, I guess I wasn’t thinking.”

“It’s okay, I guess.” Danny shifted on the couch, crossing his legs beneath him and turned to face Arin, “What-what was Jon like?”

“Well I mean we were friends, we even fused once or twice. Not for battle or anything… just for fun.”

“And they allowed that?”

“Well no, we kept it a secret from the Authority.” Arin frowned, well he thought he had been at the time, before it came to the surface that Jon was actually a Diamond. To this day Arin didn’t know whether he should of felt betrayed by that revelation, surely that was something you told your friends. “Fusing with Jon is unlike anything I’ve every experienced before.”

“Well you’re probably the only Gem ever to fuse with him.”

“I guess. I mean Jon was so in sync with me, He only needed to watch me for a few seconds before he had my moves down pat. He was able to predict what I was going to do, I’ve never had another Gem that in sync with me before. It was really kinda cool.” 

Dan wasn’t jealous, he wasn’t the type of Gem that got jealous. He never felt that way when Arin fused with the others, with Suz or Ross. The way Arin lit up when he spoke about Jon rocked Danny to the core, it made him feel utterly guilty that he was jealous of a friendship that had ended oh so long ago. The pink Rhodonite didn't really like talking about Homeworld but Danny had managed to get a few things out of him, Jon and Arin were close, there was no denying that, each of them must of felt so betrayed by the other’s actions. The taller Gem turned away, hands in his lap as he thought about everything; Arin was beaming about Jon, he had even slipped up and called Danny the wrong name, was he just nothing compared to the old Blue Diamond? 

That thought anchored itself in the back of Dan’s subconscious, gnawing away at the insecurity and anxiety that had nestled itself there ever since he had joined the Crystal Grumps. Arin was so animated when he talked, hands gesturing wildly, goofy grin on his features; all that and none of it was directed at him, Danny was simply forgotten whilst Arin remembered his time back on Homeworld with fondness. His long hair was falling over his eyes, Danny was aware that Arin had stopped talking, he nodded in acknowledgement letting a heavy silence fill the room between them.

“Dan?” No response. 

Arin cocked his head to the side, Danny was turned away from him, head down with his curls obscuring his face. He seemed like he was trying to shut out the conversation, like he was entering his own space. Maybe he was meditating? Arin knew Dan did that quite a lot, he wasn’t sure why but he knew that the Cummingtonite and Ninja Brian would frequently lock themselves away. He assumed it was some weird Ninja thing that was so ingrained into their routine that they couldn’t stop. Pink coloured eyes studied Danny, watching as the Gem curled his long legs towards his body, refusing to meet Arin’s gaze even when prompted. This wasn’t meditation, this was something else entirely. 

“Dan, are you upset?”

“No. Why would I be?”

“Because I called you Jon?”

“Don’t-don’t be silly Arin. It’s not like I’m jealous or anything.” Danny tried to laugh, it came out forced and died like a pathetic whine in his throat. 

“You’re jealous, of Jon?”

“No! I said I wasn’t! Why would I be jealous of a Gem that got to fuse with you perfectly? A Gem that was more in sync with you than Suzy or me? No! I’m not jealous! Jon’s just obviously perfect and we can’t live up to that!”

“Dan.” Arin watched as the blue projection hugged his knees, face buried between them and his hair obscuring his face. Frowning he turned to face Dan, closing the distance between them suddenly and practically launching his larger frame onto the other in a tight and crushing hug. He didn’t know if this was going to work, every other time they had both been enjoying themselves, not trying to prove a point.

“Arin! What the fuck!” Danny protested, squirming beneath the pink Rhodonite as a white glow began to surround their Gems, they both stilled, the new form taking shape, long arms, four of them in total gripped the couch cushions for balance. Their curly hair fell into their face, the blonde streak visible in their peripheral. Slowly, Darin uncurled their form, still a little shell shocked but trying to relax.

“Fusion isn’t the same for everyone. Some sync whilst dancing, other’s like us, don’t need it. Sometimes just wanting to make someone happy is all it takes. Fusion is a unique experience between every Gem.” Arin was more in control of their Fusion right now, his voice layered strongly over their words, trying to drive the point home to the other Gem he completely trusted. He felt the affirmative push on his mind and it was enough to slowly relinquish his hold and let them settle back into Darin. The Iolite was smiling like an idiot, two arms hugging themselves tightly whist they giggled.

_’Thanks Arin.’_

_’Anytime bro._

“Really, again?” Suzy had walked into the Grump Space, seeing Darin on the couch caused her to sigh with exasperation, she really wanted to talk to her husband, now it looked like she was going to have to wait. “Darin, any chance of unfusing soon?”

“Sorry baby girl, but I’m kinda needed at the moment.”

Suzy had picked up the heavier tone of Arin, she looked on with confusion as Darin seemed to settle deeper into the couch cushions, pulling a blanket around themselves and snuggling into the warmth it created. She had no idea what was happening between them, but that was definitely Arin’s voice so she let it slide just this once. Moving towards them with a soft smile, Suzy picked up the corner of the blanket, telling them to scoot over before she slipped beneath it to snuggle in beside Darin.

“It’s ok. You take your time. We could all just rest here until you’re ready?” Suzy sounded hopeful causing Darin to chuckle as they pulled her tighter against their chest. 

“Yeah. That sounds perfect.”


	19. Jealous

Danny chuckled as he swung around on the small stage, his room was lit like a concert, two spotlights dancing and twirling following the two figures as they moved on the slick surface. Arin and him had been throwing around ideas for awhile about starting a band, writing about what they loved on Earth and their knowledge had fallen to video games. They were only in the goofing around stage, fuelled by the concept and the possible fun the project could be. They had been singing back and forth for almost an hour, Arin wasn’t exactly a bad singer but he lacked rhythm and key, but Dan was patient and Arin was willing to learn, he could come up with lines on the spot and his beat boxing was always a good beat to sing too.

“Then I met Meryl, a hot box of rocks,  And I fought a gunslinger named Ocelot,  
But a cyborg ninja cut his hand away.  
You know, normal shit that happens everyday.” Arin grinned almost breathless as he finished his verse, pink eyes trained on Dan, the taller Gem taking a breath, he made singing look as natural as talking.

“Listen Snake, there must have been a mistake.  
On this show you’ve got to get right to the point of your game.  
Like the ship from Galaga.”

“Hi, I shoot stuff in space.” Arin chimed.

“And this car from Pole Position.”

“I’m a car!” Suddenly Danny burst into laughter, Arin soon following suit, the room filled with nothing but their joy, the music fading into the background. Neither of them noted the third figure standing in the doorway and watching them.

“Where did you pull that voice from dude?” 

“I thought it’d be funny.”

“It’s perfect Arin.” Danny wiped away a tear from the corner of his eye, his chest hurt from laughing, his eyes trained on the Rhodonite. These were the times he enjoyed hanging with the Crystal Grumps, Arin was the person who could make him laugh with the stupidest stuff, but somehow it never failed to amuse the both of them. “Alright let’s try that again.”

Brian was leaning against the door frame, watching the two other Gems mess around with lyrics. There was a flash of nostalgia, he and Dan use to do that all the time; lately though, things had been stagnate between them. Arin and Danny had been hanging out a lot lately and Brian was definitely not jealous, no sir, not him, he wasn’t the type. Except for he was totally jealous. Watching them made his body seem to itch all over, his blood boil as they giggled and sung. Brian couldn’t explain it, he had never really been the jealous type, well except for that one time but Dan had totally forgiven him for that. 

The silent Ninja pushed away from the door, stepping into the darkened room to simply make his presence known. Danny spotted him a wide grin spread across his features as he beckoned Brian closer. Brian smirked beneath his mask, closing the distance between them in purposeful strides. He had already pitched his idea to Dan, the taller Gem practically lighting up at the thought, they were going to put on a show for Arin that he would never forget. 

Danny was moving in a smooth deliberate way, the sway of his hips, his graceful steps were to try and sync with Brian’s walk. The Bloodstone never danced, he had never been the one to open up that way, but years of training had abled Dan to work with him, to move around him and make Fusion a possibility. It got easier every time, but after experiencing Fusion with an array of other Gems; Ross, Arin and Suzy to name a few, Dan knew that it shouldn’t of been this difficult, that becoming Manticore should not of been a chore on the both of them.

Brian closed the last few feet between them, his hands reaching out to grasp Dan tightly around his forearms and pull him the last few inches until they were flushed together. Dan doesn't remember a time when Brian was _this_ forceful. Bright white light engulfed them, merging their bodies into one being, a red hue taking over as their Gems settled into place. Manticore was vicious, yet to the naked eye they seemed no more dangerous than any other Fusion. Their body was not overly large, there were no extra limbs and they seemed to almost have a child like grin, a smile that was filled with sharp white opal teeth. Their eyes held intelligence, four of them scanning the room before settling on Arin, a bright sounding laugh escaping from them, as they approached him slowly.

“Manticore?”

“You guessed it baby!” Their voice sounded much like Dan, if he had been gargling nails for two centuries of course, “what does a Gem have to do to get some recognition around here?”

“Wow- um- you two look…”

“Amazing? Fantastic? Oh God I’ve forgotten how good it feels to be me!” The Manticore chuckled, throwing their arms around themselves and squeezing tightly. The moment was sweet for the few seconds it lasted before their eyes fell back onto Arin and that vicious grin was on their features again, those teeth weren’t exactly calming to the Rhodonite. “You are such a thorn in my side Arin.”

“What are you talking about?” Arin backed away from the stage, moving out of the spotlight to the darkened surroundings of Dan’s room. “Manticore? What’s wrong?”

“You think you can just come in here, sing your little heart out and take him away. It doesn’t work like that Arin. Dan and Brian are partners, a part of me. We never should of let you get close.”

“Manticore… you’re scaring me.” Arin took another step back, completely shrouded in darkness now and he took the opportunity to glance at the door to Danny’s room.

“Good! Since you and Dan started Fusing, no one sees the need for me anymore! Do you know what it feels like to be useless?” Manticore snarled, their blue eyes rimmed with tears, their yellow ones burning fiercely with hate. A hiss escaped through their clenched opal teeth as Arin watched in amazement as the skin of their arm warped slightly. The projection of their form shuddered once before it began to rip open, large shards and clusters of Gems began to pierce their arm, tearing a scream from their throat, the sound much like a wounded animal. 

Arin looked on horrified, the Manticore snarling at the shards, wiping away blood as it dribbled down their arm. He took this opportunity to run, his legs faltering at first but with a final vicious scream that was torn from the Manticore’s throat, Arin disappeared into the darkness. The sound of his footsteps echoed loud in Daniel’s room, the sound hitting the many mirrored walls and bouncing back towards him. The footfalls were mixed between the feral snarls escaping the Manticore, Arin didn’t want to look behind him, he didn’t want to know how close the Fusion was, he just wanted to get out. His reflection was approaching him fast, Arin’s eyes widened when he realised that they were right behind him, they were closing the distance too quickly.

Move, move move! Arin’s mind practically shouted at him, he slipped in his turn, socked feet falling beneath him just in time for the Manticore to go sailing above him. The sound of glass cracking filled the room, shards from the mirror raining down on the Fusion. Arin caught his breath, a deep inhale as he scrambled back to his feet, he didn’t hesitate, he simply turned towards the door trying to gain as much distance as he could between himself and the crazed Fusion.

“Slippery little sucker isn’t he?”

_’Please stop!’_

_’No! He deserves this!’_

Manticore brushed the glass from themselves, small chunks becoming entangled within the Gem shards on their arm. A look of frustration passed over their childlike features, curled hair falling into their eyes as a soft hiccup escaped their lips. The Manticore’s blue eyes were closed, trying to ignore the world around them, trying to hold back the tears that ran down their cheeks. The sound of Dan’s door closing caught their attention, a snarl on their lips as they watched it close shrouding them once more in darkness.

_’Please…’_

_’Stop being weak.’_

Arin tore through the Temple, his breath quick, his chest hurting from the fear. He had never seen a Fusion like this before, it was something Homeworld had frowned upon and most of the Crystal Grump Fusions were stable. He had worked on Forced Fusion, back when he had been controlled by the Authority but never had Arin witnessed something that was this unstable, something that was so fuelled by jealous rage that it seemed more animal then Gem. Suddenly he thought back to the corruptions and Arin felt his heart sink. No, that wouldn’t happen to Dan, would it? Was the Manticore on the cusp of becoming nothing more than a mindless monster? Fear was gnawing at him as he burst through the Temple door, the other Grumps no where in sight.

“Help! Suzy, Barry, Holly, Ross? Somebody, anybody, help!” He could hear the footsteps fast approaching behind him, his breath hitched in his throat as he ran towards the Warp Pad. By luck, as he went to step onto the polished surface, it lit up in a blinding light, his friends standing before him, concern peppered across their features. “Let’s go!”

“Go where?” Ross asked cocking his head to the side as he suddenly heard the loud commotion from behind the Temple door.

“No time to explain! Anywhere, hurry!” Arin held onto his wife, his eyes blown wide in terror. Barry wasted no time, the surface of the pad lighting up as the Manticore tore through the door. Vicious opal teeth were bared and they lunged at the Crystal Grumps, claw-like hands flailing into the light as they disappeared. 

“This is proving tougher than I originally thought.” Manticore snarled, voice gravelly almost beyond recognition now as their rage took over most of their sense. They studied the warp, thinking of the best place the others could of taken Arin, the little pink Rhodonite was proving to be quite the difficult target. Their form warped, flickered slightly, transgressing back to light as one of the beings tried to tear themselves away. There was a growl, a sound so primal escaping their lips as the Manticore fought to keep themselves together, to feed the rage and the jealousy bubbling beneath. “No you don’t, we’re not finished yet.”

_’Brian… please stop.’_

_’I-I can’t.’_

—

“Arin, what the fuck is going on?” Ross asked as soon as the light cleared, they were at the sand temple, moving off of the warp pad and running blindly towards the towering structure before them. “Is that Brian and Dan’s fusion?”

“Yeah.” Arin was grasping tightly at Suzy’s hand, half pleading for her to catch up but also relying on her for the strength he needed to continue.

“What did you do to piss them off?” Ross’ accent was stronger in his fear, his tone seemed as if he was accusing the pink Gem as they all took shelter between the pillars.

“I dunno. I was singing with Dan, goofing off when Brian came in. I guess they fused to show off, Manticore was alright at first but he seemed so jealous and angry.”

“Oh baby it’s alright.” Suzy coddled him, stroking the blonde streak from his face and wiping his brow of sweat. “We’re not going to be safe here.”

“Suzy’s right.” Barry frowned, assessing their area and watching the Warp pad intently. “We’ll have to defeat him.”

“No! There’s gotta be another way. I don’t think Dan or even Brian mean it, their fuelled by rage right now.”

“Arin we can’t risk that, a Fusion like them seems unstable at best and unless you can make them unfuse then that’s our only option.”

“Um- I could be able to help.” Holly spoke up, clipped to her belt was a weapon that neither had seen since the battle against Homeworld, a medieval like weapon that could string fear in most Gems, a destabiliser. 

“How do you have that?” Suzy questioned.

“I thought it might come in handy.”

 

—-

The plan was in motion, they knew that the Manticore wasn’t going to give up going after Arin so the simple solution had been to use him as bait. Arin had kicked up a fuss about that but in the end he had been swayed by Suzy. The hardest part had been the wait, the Warp Pad in front of them eerily quiet, Arin was clutching Suzy’s hand, whispering to her, their eyes trained on the large crystal surface.

“It’s kinda too quiet.” Ross muttered, his hand practically itching for the inevitable fight.

The darkness around them lit up, the light from the Warp Pad blinding against their eyes. The silence was thick, the tension coiled tight, their muscles ready to pounce. There on the hard crystal surface was the Manticore. His childlike lips were pulled back in a vicious smile, fanged teeth showing and his eyes dilated with madness. 

“Oh, you’ve decided to make this a little more fun!” The Fusion’s voice growled with excitement. “I love hide and seek!”

“Arin. Now’s your chance.” Suzy whispered, a soft kiss to Arin’s temple to spur him on. She watched him gather his courage for a moment before darting out of hiding and into the vicious Fusion’s path.

“Please Manticore, this isn’t you.” Arin pleaded, caught between fighting the urge to run and to stand his ground and help his friends. This was not them, he didn’t want to fight the two Homeworld Gems but they weren’t really leaving him a choice. He didn’t know why the Manticore had lost it, or if this had just been a once off, but Arin was sure in the fact that he and only he was the target. “Brian, Dan, please just come back to us.”

The Manticore snarled, as they rushed the pink Rhodonite, causing Arin to jump out of the way quickly. He had asked the Grumps to give him a chance, to try and talk to them, to try and get them to unfuse but nothing seemed to be going as planned. The Manticore was more like an animal now, gone were the snide and vicious remarks, replaced with nothing but growls as they advanced on Arin.

“You don’t have to do this, there’s still time to turn back. Please Dan, you’re my best friend.” The words seemed to make the Manticore more enraged. They had rushed forward, hands swinging down in a crushing arc. Arin jumped to the side, the impact of the blow landing on the Warp Pad, it’s surface cracking and shattering instantly. Chunks of it’s polished surface sailed through the air, the Crystal Grumps scattering beneath the falling debris. Arin was not so lucky.

“Holly look out!” Ross pushed his wife out of the way, watching as she tumbled to a safe distance, large chunks of the warp pad crashing around them. 

“Arin!” Suzy’s voice cut through the commotion, she watched as the Manticore bent down to pick up the pink Rhodonite, tossing it from palm to palm, their tongue snaking across their lips. “Don’t do it!”

“Finally.” The Manticore’s voice was strained, their tongue rolling across their lips as if they could already taste the Gem in their hands. Light surrounded them, their forms splitting, almost down to the hip before the Manticore was able to pull themselves back together again. The internal struggle inside the Fusion was obvious, anger, fear, aggression, sadness; each emotion flashing across their features as the war within them waged on.

“Arin!” Suzy couldn’t take her eyes off of her husband’s Gem, the pink reflective surface bouncing between the Fusion’s hands. She closed the distance between herself and Holly, grasping the destabiliser from the Commander’s hands. She had once told Brian that if he hurt any one of her boys she would end him. “Distract him.” 

Holly nodded, her wings appearing behind her in a flurry of bright pink feathers, Ross had pulled his shovel from his stone, Barry moving closer to them to provide backup and protection for the others. Holly took to the sky, her wings struggling to lift her, all of them exhausted from trying to placate the Manticore, they weren’t paying attention to the other Grumps, more focused on the internal struggle happening between the two Gems that created such a monstrous Fusion. 

_’Brian, we have to stop.’_

_’I-don’t know how, I can’t!’_

_’Please, I can’t keep this up. I’m fading Bri.’_

_’No Dan, come on, stay with me. I’ll fix this I promise.’_

Suzy clutched the Destabiliser in her hands, her fingers tight around the dangerous weapon, it felt foreign to her, too light in her grasp unlike her mace. There was a brief wondering thought whether a weapon like this would even work on her, but she quickly banished it to the back of her mind. There were more important things to deal with and rescuing her husband’s Gem was one. Green eyes followed the Rhodonite’s shiny pink surface, watching the Manticore clutch desperately to the Gem in their hands. The other Crystal Grumps were proving to be a good distraction but it appeared as if the Manticore was already occupied. 

The Fusion was viciously snarling, a hand clutched in their short curled hair, their eyes closed and pain written on every feature. Suzy took this as her chance, she raised the Destabiliser, flicking it on with a small switch as she closed the distance between them. The Manticore roared, their form once more engulfed by a bright blinding light, two Gems, two beings trying to separate once more. Suzy couldn’t chance that they would reform, she didn’t want to be dealing with the Manticore gone rogue, a few more times Fusing with force and they would be no better than a corruption. She thrust the Destabiliser agains’t their projection, watching the small device twitch and spark, it’s power running through the Manticore and forcing them apart. 

The light faded, Suzy panted as she watched two red Gems fall to the sand with soft dull thuds. She didn’t want to touch them, didn’t want anything else to do with them as she dropped the Destabiliser to the ground. She was aware of the other Grumps approaching her, of Holly’s familiar grasp clutching at her shoulder. She didn’t want to be here, she didn’t want to think of what she had done. Yes it had been for the better, but seeing the Manticore forced and feral like that made her realise that one day, it could be her. Suzy collapsed to her knees, Arin’s Gem gathered close to her, along with the others. Three Gems, all inactive, all just waiting to be reformed. 

Brian’s was picked up by Barry, his thick calloused hands clutching it tightly as if he was scared the Ninja would be back, the smooth surface of the Bloodstone was darker in colour. Suzy picked up Dan’s cradling it in her palm with Arin’s, the red Gem seemed to have lost it’s shine. Both red Gems were littered with small sharp shards, little fragments of colour that crusted their surface and had the other Grumps looking on with muted horror. 

“What’s wrong with them?” Ross asked, his heavily accented voice breaking the silence and tension.

“Do you think that-um-condition is responsible for their behaviour?” Holly reached forward to brush her fingertips against the base of Brian’s Gem only to have Barry close his fist around it and pull it out of her reach.

“I thought it was just a legend.” His whispered voice echoed into the night sky.

“What?” Ross raised a brow.

“Nothing. Here Suzy let me take Dan as well, I’ll make sure they’re both safe until they can reform. We’ll question them and have to decide their fate after that.”

“You can’t make that decision without Arin.” Suzy stood, still clutching both her husband and their friend’s Gems. “It’s not fair, you weren’t there for the entirety of it.”

“They almost killed him Suzy, are you telling me you’re ok with that?”

“Of course not! But you don’t know the whole story, none of us do!”

“Bubbling them would be the safest option.”

“You can’t!”

“And why not?”

“Because I can’t see Arin lose another friend!” Suzy sniffed, clutching the pink Rhodonite to her chest as tears formed in her eyes. “I-I can’t see him spiral downwards again Barry, after Homeworld, after Jon… he was finally getting better.”

“Suzy. You have to understand.”

“Would you do the same to me?” Suzy asked, defiant, her shoulders squared now and her eyes focused. Holly was standing beside her, Ross meanwhile was confused by the situation, he had no idea how the conversation had turned. “One day it’ll happen Barry, one day I’ll be like Manticore. Could you bubble me?”

“No.”

“Then I will be taking all of them to safety.” Suzy held out her hand watching carefully as Barry placed the marred Bloodstone into her awaiting palm. The whole situation had tired all of them, and it was just great that the warp pad had been shattered, looked like they were going to be taking the long way back to the Temple.


	20. Please Hold Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last Chapter

“Don’t worry Barry, Dan and I will be able to take care of it. We’ll just go and suss it out and then come back.”

“Arin I don’t know about this.”

“Come on Bear, worse comes to worse we can Fuse to get outta there.”

“Alright, but be careful, the both of you. Holly’s out on a mission with Ross so we don’t have access to the Spring right now.”

“It confuses me that she keeps those birbs there.”

“It’s birds Dan, and don’t worry Barry, Dan’s the healer, we’ll be fine.”

Barry forced a smile onto his features watching as the other two stepped onto the warp pad, he wished them luck one more time before the light engulfed them and they were gone. He had a bad feeling about this, it had been gnawing at the back of his mind all day, he really didn’t like it when the team split up. Ross and Holly were out checking the Sky Temple for recent disturbances, Suzy had taken Kevin to learn more about their history and now Arin and Dan were off to check the island for a possible corrupted Gem. Barry didn’t like this at all.

The island was one of the more peaceful places that the warps could take them too, Arin was a little annoyed that there was a possibility that there may be a corrupted Gem. The first time the Grumps had checked it out they had found absolutely nothing, there had still been a strange feeling in the air, lurking over the island shattering it’s normally peaceful atmosphere into something tense and terrifying. Dan didn’t seem to really notice, he was once again awestruck by the beauty of it all. He stood beside Arin, his shoulder brushing the other’s as he gave it a playful nudge. The pink Rhodonite chuckled in response shoving Dan back before running towards the shore line. 

“Come on dude, we can have fun while we look for the possible threat!” Arin laughed turning around and jogging backwards, watching as Dan gave chase. He felt the terrain change underfoot, going from the hard grass covered soil to the soft granules of the sand. It was then that he noticed Dan freeze a look of terror on his face. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing-I uh, I just don’t like water.”

“Really? It’s ok man, we don’t have to go in, coming down the beach isn’t going to kill you.”

“I guess.” Danny hesitated, teeth worrying his bottom lip, blue eyes moving to focus on Arin. He sighed before taking a step and closing the distance between the two of them, still keeping a wary distance from the shore line.

“Jaws really fucked you up huh?”

“Man that shit was scary.”

Arin chuckled placing a reassuring hand on Dan’s shoulder before leading the other down the beach. It was highly possible that the corrupted Gem was hiding amongst the dense trees of the forest, but this way they could walk the perimeter and look for anything that showed it was here. He noticed Dan lagging behind, slowing his steps so he was in sync with the healer, Arin reached down to grasp Danny’s hand. 

“Keep up slow poke. I don’t want to lose you to some corrupted Gem just because you lagged behind.”

“Oh Arin, that has to be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“Shut up you clod.” Their laughter rang out into the air, catching the attention of something a little more sinister nearby, it hid beneath the foliage on the tree line, watching the two Gem’s walk down the beach, the creature snarling from within it’s cover.

“Arin, that’s too close!” Dan pulled his hand free from his friend’s grip, jogging back up the beach away from the water and waves. He watched the Rhodonite roll his eyes, before turning to slowly trudge up the sand towards him. There was hot breath on Danny’s neck, a snarl near his ear and warm drool on his shoulder. “Arin!” 

Pink eyes looked up, he briefly saw the fear on Danny’s face before something snatched him and he was dragged onto the dense forest. Arin’s heart practically leapt into his throat, as he heard Dan’s frustrated and fearful yelps, he tore up the beach, his footfalls sinking into the sand causing him to stumble. Fear gripped at Arin’s mind, adrenalin fuelling his movements as he tore through the undergrowth, he followed the path of broken branches and the torn up forest floor, Dan’s curses and shouts leading him. 

The pink Rhodonite came to a halt, the corrupted Gem had cornered itself at the base of the cliff, it had Dan clutched in it’s claws, covering his Gem so the other couldn’t summon his weapon. Danny was struggling and cursing, hitting the corruption desperately with his fists before his eyes settled onto Arin and relief washed over his features. He didn’t waste any time, the Gem on Arin’s hand glowing softly before the aura surrounded him, up his forearm and solidifying into his canon. The charge shot rocketed towards the corrupted Gem, the creature howling out in pain as it clipped what could be called it’s shoulder. It dropped Dan, he scrambled to his feet, creating distance between the enemy before summoning his katana. 

“Dan, you alright?”

“Yeah thanks Arin.” Dan puffed slightly breathless from fighting the creature before. “It’s Gem is on it’s belly.”

“Great, that’s gonna be an easy shot.” Arin muttered. The corruption snarled, turning to face him, it charged blindly, a few more shots hitting it’s body before Arin dodged, firing off another shot as he rolled out of the way. “I know you’re not one to get into the fray Dan but I’m gonna need your help.”

“Of course Arin!” Dan seemed a little offended, but he immediately got into a battle stance, closing the distance between himself and Arin to help with defence. The corrupted Gem snarled, twisting it’s body in an unnatural way so it could face the two Grumps before it. Large claws dug into the earth for purchase, it’s hulking body once more charging towards them. The distance closed, the ground rumbling with each step, it’s breath hot and foul. Arin had fired another shot, Dan moving to the creatures side his katana at the ready. The moment to strike was brief, a small window between strides where the corrupted Gem sat nestled within twisted flesh. A flash of reflection had Dan moving in, thrusting the katana forward to destroy the projected monster, he had hesitated and there was a grunt from Arin as he was sent flying into a nearby tree. Dan lunged forward, rage fuelling his movements, there was a howl, a scream and a curse, all before the Gem poofed, Danny moving immediately to pick it up. 

The once yellow Gem gleamed in his hands, it smelt fantastic, it looked delicious; Dan bubbled it quickly, sending the temptation away as he took a couple of deep breaths to steady himself. Crushing and consuming that Gem would of definitely gotten him bubbled, no taste was worth that, he had spent far too many years already locked away. Sighing he moved to Arin, finally taking in the pale and frightful look his friend had. Running to his side, Dan quickly began looking the Rhodonite over, for any signs of damage; it wasn’t until he pried Arin’s hands apart to inspect his Gem that he gasped.

‘You’re hurt! You’re cra-cracked!” Danny stammered, feeling tears already prickling at the corner of his eyes. Arin looked to him, sympathy and fear mixed painfully on his features. 

“Yeah, it’s alright though, it’s only small.” A loud crack filled the humid island’s air, both watching the small fracture turn into a rather considerable gash in the pink surface.

“Arin…” Dan sniffed trying to hold off his tears as he studied Arin’s Gem held tightly in his hands. “I can heal you. I-I know I can, just let me try.” 

Arin watched as his friend tried to take a deep breath, the sound hitched as a sob escaped between Dan’s lips. Frowning slightly, Arin squeezed Danny’s hands in encouragement, apparently that made things worse, the tears wouldn’t stop. Arin felt sorrow welling up inside him, he had never really seen Dan like this, normally he could sing, the Gem had a voice on him that was more than melodious. The Red Cummingtonite was a healer by nature, he cared so much about his friends but sometimes there was nothing he could do.

“Dan, it’s ok. You need to calm down.”

“I can’t do it Arin. Not-not whilst I’m crying.” Danny hiccupped, whipping at his eyes with the sleeves of his spandex suit, trying to gather himself and stop the sorrow. “You’re getting worse!”

“I’ll be alright, come-“ A glitch ran through Arin’s form causing a shudder to ripple through his projection. “Come on we can head back.”

“I don’t know if you’ll make it!”

“Of course I will, just-just-just relax Dan.”

“Oh god! I have to do something!” Danny tried to calm himself, taking a deep breath that shuddered on the inhale. He was too distraught to sing, he never thought this would happen, that he wouldn’t be able to summon a breath to sing. Dan tried humming but the sound was broken and harsh, unlike his normal soft and caring tone; Arin’s Gem shifted again, a new fracture lined crack running from the main one to the outside. “No, no. I can do something… Arin, Fuse with me!”

“What? No-I-I can’t, not like this.”

“Yeah we can! I can keep us stable until we get back!” Dan grinned through the tears that streamed down his face, he was trying to be positive, for Arin’s sake; but there was a nagging guilt eating at his gut, that maybe this wouldn’t work out. “Once we get to the Temple we can unfuse and you can be healed.”

“I guess, I think you’re over reacting but-but-but- if this will-ll make you feel better.” Arin twitched slightly, his projection shuddering with each stutter as he watched Dan approach him, the taller Gem taking his form into a tight embrace and squeezing. It felt good, reassuring and Arin relaxed, feeling the Fusion take ahold of the two of them. 

White light engulfed them, forcing their projections together, a taller form emerging in their place. Darin was a little different, they were darker in colour, closer to a shade of blue then their normal bright purple. The most shocking thing was there were only two arms, one still had Arin’s cracked Gem centred on the back of their right hand, the Rhodonite’s presence at the back of their mind was only a small comfort and not a participating force. Dan was the one mainly in control, Arin to him felt weak, happy to be blanketed by the warmth that Darin allowed him. 

“Don’t worry babe, I’ll get us back home.” The voice was smooth, melodic, Arin’s deeper tone being masked by Dan’s stronger presence. Looking forlornly at the Gem, the crack causing grief to swell in their chest once more, tears began to sting at their eyes as Darin tried desperately to wipe them away. They headed back towards the beach and the way they had come, the Island had once been beautiful, but now all they could sense was the heavy air, the knowledge that if they every came back here then they would always be reminded of the now. 

The warp was a welcome sight to Darin’s eyes, red and raw from crying and the wind, they had never been more satisfied to step foot on the reflective surface and imagine the welcoming feeling of home. Bright light surrounded them, engulfing them with warmth, the travel seeming like years had passed, their grief over taking them before the familiar Temple appeared before their eyes. Darin stumbled off, sniffling and sobbing as they collapsed to the ground. Barry was by their side in an instant, wrapping his arms around Darin’s form and supporting their weight with ease.

“Dan, are you alright? Wait- Where’s Arin?”

“Arin’s hurt.” Darin replied, wiping away their tears, Barry calling out for Suzy amongst the commotion. 

“Where is he?”

“I-He’s…” Darin was confused, couldn’t Barry tell where Arin was? He was right there with Dan, the both of them sharing something special that was Fusion. How could Barry not see? Was Arin’s lack of presence in Darin changing their physical form more? The blonde streak was less than pronounced, Arin’s voice almost silent in the back of their mind, they only had two arms now, but they still had the Rhodonite’s Gem. “Barry, he’s cracked.”

“Dan!” Suzy burst into the room, a look of pure panic on her features, her skin pale her face contorted in worry as tears prickled at her eyes. “Where is he? Give him to me Dan!” 

Darin clutched their hands to their chest, their breathing rapid and anxiety creeping into their mind. Suzy wasn’t going to like this. They gulped, slowly holding out their right hand for Suzy to inspect. She clutched at their wrist, trying to pry the cracked Gem from them, but her struggling proved futile. Realisation dawned across her features, her beautiful green eyes going wide and taking a step back suddenly. Darin’s hands fell limply to their side, unable to meet the distraught Gem’s gaze for a few moments.

“Darin?”

“Hey Scooze. Arin, uh-Arin’s not doing to well.”

“What did you do?” Barry accused immediately.

“I’m keeping him stable, so we can get him to the Spring. Dan couldn’t-couldn’t sing, he was too upset.” Darin looked distraught, Suzy moving closer to their side, embracing them tightly, her own tears becoming lost within the material of their shirt. Darin was unsure whether he had done something good, Arin was still there, a presence taking it easy in the back of their shared mind; Suzy was acting like she would never see Arin again, whilst Barry was proper grilling him for Fusing. “What’s the problem Bear? Arin’s still around because of me! We’ll get to the healing Spring and unfuse, he’s cracked not shattered.”

“This shouldn’t be possible. You should not of been able to Fuse with Arin’s Gem the way it is.” Barry frowned, calming down slightly as he took Darin’s right hand, inspecting the Gem and the cracks that marred it’s once glistening surface. The cracks were deep, nothing that the Spring couldn’t handle, but Darin should not of been possible, they shouldn’t of been able to fuse. 

“Barry it’s fine, we fused end of story! Now can we get into the Spring?”

“Holly’s not back yet Darin. Why don’t you unfuse and then Dan can heal Arin with his voice?”

Darin looked at Suzy, they could see the hope in her tearful eyes, she just wanted to see her husband again, yet they was so scared for her. Arin was the smallest presence in the back of their mind, curled and safe in the blanket that Darin created for him. If they unfused there was no guarantee that his Gem wouldn’t completely shatter and Dan couldn’t bring him back from that. Suzy was clinging to their arm, they understood her urgency, she was scared that Arin was gone. Darin pulled her into a tight embrace, they knew that Arin would want to be there for her, they kissed her forehead before nodding and stepping back.

“You’re right, We need to unfuse. I’m sorry for worrying all of you.” Darin closed their eyes trying to separate the two beings that made up their form. It was getting difficult to distinguish one from the other, Arin was such a small presence, hidden in the back of their mind, not wanting to leave the safety that was the Fusion. When nothing happened, Darin felt Suzy clutch onto their arm her face filled with fear, Barry was also anxious, confused why they hadn’t yet.

“Darin… What’s wrong?” Suzy’s voice broke mid sentence.

“Arin, he’s ok don’t worry about that, but he doesn’t want to unfuse. Think we might have to wait for Holly.” Darin seemed sheepish, guilty that they couldn’t do what the other Grumps had asked of them, they could identify the disappointment is Barry’s eyes. They didn’t mean it, they thought they were doing what was the best for the Rhodonite, Suzy had tears streaming down her face. “Please don’t cry Scoozie, I promise I’m going to look after him.”

Suzy was pulling Darin close to her, squeezing their mid section as she buried her face into their chest, there wasn’t much of Arin in the Fusion but just knowing that he was safe in Dan’s care was a little calming to her. Holly had entered with Ross, the warp pad lighting up to announce their presence, the two were talking happily before the tension in the room hit them and caused them to fall silent. Ross looked to Darin with confusion, whilst Holly knew something was wrong immediately, she rushed to Darin, her hands checking the Gem on his stomach before moving to the one on his hand.

“What happened?”

“There was a corruption, we got it, but Arin got hurt.” 

“I see that. Come, I’ll take you to the Spring.” Holly lead Darin to the warp pad, she knew Suzy would join her, but the rest of the Grumps were a bit of a surprise. They squished onto the warp pad finally, Kevin squished between them. “Were you Fused before or after the incident?”

“Umm after, does it make a difference?”

“We’ll find out.” The warp activated around them, green light illuminating everyone’s projections. Holly noticed that Suzy was not leaving Darin’s side, Barry too seemed concerned chatting to Kevin and trying to calm the younger Gem down. Ross was the only one who didn’t seem upset, probably annoyed that his time with Holly was going to be cut short. 

The spring appeared before them, quiet and serene, it had come a long way since Arin had unblocked it all those years ago. It was a haven for Holly, she enjoyed the calm serenity of the atmosphere, it was the perfect environment for all the birds she had adopted over the years. It had become Holly’s domain ever since Dan had joined the team, with his healing voice they hadn’t really seen the need for the Fountain anymore. Of course Holly couldn’t let it fall into disrepair like last time, if anything had ever happened-like this-than it was nice to have a back up.

“You know the deal Darin, in you go.” Holly and Suzy helped the Fusion to the fountain watching as they relaxed into the water, their eyes focused on Arin’s Gem and the crack that lined it’s pink surface. 

Darin watched it with bated breath, focusing and tears forming in their eyes when they began to notice the smaller cracks healing together. A heaved sob of joy escaped between parted lips as the Gem on their hand finished knitting the cracks. The Fusion’s colour slowly began to tint their cheeks spreading from there, the warmth of the purple taking over the cool dark blue that Darin was before. The blond in their hair became more pronounced and the Fusion felt better when two more arms appeared and flexed in response, Darin could feel both Dan and Arin together again, their happiness, their relief, their joy all became a part of the Fusion. They burst from the water, climbing the edge of the fountain with a huge grin on their face. 

“We’re ok!” Darin spun around, all four arms hugging themselves as a white light surrounded them, separating their forms, both Gems appearing as they spun around continuing the hug with laughter spilling from their lips. Suzy ran up to them, flinging her arms around them both and having Arin pull her between them, kissing her forehead and whispering how sorry he was. 

“I was so worried.” Suzy sobbed, blinking the tears from her eyes as she leant into the soft kiss Arin had given her. She was hugging them both tightly, the three of them simply over joyed that the Rhodonite was alright, that Arin had not shattered. Suzy grasped Danny by the fore arm, pulling him down to her level so she could kiss his cheek, leaving a smudge of lipstick there. “Thank you, for looking after him.”

“Uhh-no problem Scooze.” Danny blushed, his blue cheeks tinted pink as Ross coughed loudly.

“As nice as this love fest is, how about everyone goes back to the Temple so I can spend more time with my girlfriend.” The Aquamarine frowned, raising a brow at the other three, watching with amusement as Danny leapt out of their comforting embrace.

“Yeah let’s go home.” Dan muttered, Suzy grasped his hand, Arin the other as they lead him back to the warp pad with large smiles on their faces. Barry and Kevin followed, both a little confused but simply happy that everyone was alright, Barry relieved that Kevin didn’t have to experience loss, he was hoping that that would never happen, that the Crystal Grumps would stay strong. The warp pad ignited in a bright light, the departure scaring a few of Holly’s birds before they settled once more.

“Ross, you owe me fifty bucks.”

“What. why?”

“I told you they’d all get together.”

“Nah that’s not proof Holly, mouth kiss or it isn’t true.”

“Fine. Double or nothing?”

“You’re on.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks again to all who created this AU.
> 
> Link to Gator's Tumblr http://alligator-jigglin-fever.tumblr.com
> 
> Link to Doodle's Tumblr http://thedoodlecompany.tumblr.com
> 
> Link to Crystal Grumps (Gator's side Tumblr) http://crystal-grumps.tumblr.com
> 
> Link to my art http://demidevil.tumblr.com/tagged/grump-art


End file.
